Sustainable fashion seems to be making a clean sweep for best dressed this awards season. Celebrities have taken to the red carpet re-wearing some of their best looks. A trend that has taken Hollywood by storm is putting the fashion industry in the spotlight. Re-wearing old gowns, choosing vintage, or using scraps from other timeless pieces, celebrities are bringing awareness to the impact that the fashion industry has on our environment.  

And Yet I Still Have Nothing To Wear…

Since fast fashion has been on the rise, it is all any of us can do to stay on trend. The $2.5 trillion-dollar industry has companies that produce 12-24 fashion cycles each year. As fashion has evolved, purchasing habits have as well. With new items hitting store shelves every week, consumer clothing purchases have increased by 60 percent since 2000.

With such high turnover in clothing trends today, increased buying habits have reduced clothing life by half, according to World Resources Institute. While people toss their fast fashion finds to make room for the hot new thing, landfills are filling up by 21 billion tons each year with discarded clothing. Financially, that equates to about $500 billion dollars of underutilized clothing. You can make sure to maximize the life of clothes by donating to a local thrift store.

The good news is that many older fashion trends are making their way back into style, making thrift shopping a great option for updating your wardrobe.

According to InStyle, these 5 fashion trends will make a comeback in 2020:

1. Straw Bags

2. Denim Knee Length Skirts 

3. Ribbed Shirts

4. Polka Dots

5. Loose Fitted Suits

How Can I Be Fashionably Sustainable?

When searching for the next thing that will put your look over the top, remember to shop Goodwill. Shopping thrift will not only be kind to your wallet but to the environment too. Buying second-hand reduces the amount of natural resources needed to create clothing. It also lowers the amount of clothing waste that goes to landfills.

In total, the fashion industry generates 10 percent of all carbon emissions and is the second largest water polluter world-wide, generating 20 percent of water waste, according to United Nations Environment Program.

Here is how shopping thrift positively impacts the environment:

Producing a pair of jeans takes 2,000 gallons of water and yields the same amount of greenhouse gas it would take to drive a car 80 miles.

When looking for the perfect pair of mom jeans like the ones above, remember you can find that relaxed fit at a comfortable price, keeping you financially and environmentally sustainable.

One cotton shirt uses 2,700 liters (700+ gallons) of water to produce.

Choosing to purchase a donated t-shirt like the Thrift Queen helps aid in water waste reduction.

Everyone can practice sustainable fashion through donating and thrifting. Together we can make an impact for the better.

Curious about your impact? Thrift queens and fast fashionistas alike can check their environmental impact with ThreadUp’s Fashion Footprint Calculator.