How to make things last longer - and take care of the environment.

Designers are striving to use old fabrics and recycled materials in their collections, launching initiatives to recycle clothes, trying to reduce textiles dyeing, and so on. Recently, I began to think, but the fashion industry is causing enormous harm to the environment - it is known that only 1% of the total volume of clothing produced is recycled and reused. This cannot continue - this became especially evident in 2020, when the crisis of overconsumption appeared in all its alarming proportions. Major fashion players have long understood this, and over the past few years, they have shifted to more sustainable production methods or introduced individual eco-initiatives - from sustainable packaging to recycling programs.

Experts in the field of sustainable fashion development are confident that the trend towards sustainability in the future will only intensify. Big brands are already ditching off-season collections in order to reduce the number of clothes they produce and, accordingly, make fashion more sustainable (the reason is certainly much more complex, and ecology is just one aspect of the changes in the industry). All young people in Europe have long wondered how these measures are about environmental friendliness, and not about a business model to attract people concerned about environmental issues. But one thing is clear for sure: each of us can make our little contribution to caring for the planet by caring for it. First of all, you can stop treating clothes as a disposable consumable. Buy less in the mass market and invest in high-quality items made from natural fabrics. And also washing is not environmentally friendly - many fabrics by and large consist of plastic; during washing, synthetic fibers are separated from these fabrics, in fact, microplastic. Together with waste water, it enters the ocean. Well, and of course, think about proper storage of things.

For example, when putting things away for seasonal storage, I use covers or plastic storage boxes that protect against moisture, dust and dirt. We have talked a lot about this problem with people who have lived in Germany for a long time, and it is clear that European youth are much more active in the issue of ecology and make more efforts to take care of it.                                                         

https://www.wisebread.com/16-ways-to-make-your-clothes-last-longer-without-spending-big

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqDnbNFN4Ns

https://www.goclimate.com/blog/how-to-make-your-clothes-last-longer/

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/aug/01/slow-fashion-how-to-keep-your-favourite-clothes-for-ever-from-laundering-to-moth-proofing