Aloha Hurricanes. You might know me my name is Norah, I’m in 10th grade and I love clothes, but I’m also very passionate about our planet. We have 10 more years until climate change is irreversible and why not help the planet. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry on earth. So why not save the environment with clothes! Sustainable clothing can be expensive but you have to look at clothes as investments. That’s the problem with fast fashion that the industry isn’t treating clothes as investment pieces. Fast fashion is cheaply made clothing that builds on what is trending at the moment boosting its production.  I’m basically going to give you the 411 on what brands are sustainable and cute. 

1. Organic Basics:  They are a brand that is all about transparency behind their process of making clothes. They sell men and women basics such as bras, underwear, socks, work out clothing, and etcetera.
2. Beach Access: I love Beach Access. Their Instagram and its brand have the most wonderful aesthetic. They’re a swimwear and accessories brand based in California and they make their suits out recycled plastic bottles and fishing nets. Their swimsuits are a bit pricey but clothes to me are an investment and they have sales often. 
3. Christy Dawn: This is also another one of my favorite brands. They sell tops, bottoms, and what not: but they are known for their dresses. These dresses are works of art. They make their clothes out of recycled fabric. 
4. Everlane: Everlane is a really good ethical company if you are looking for basics in your wardrobe. They make their clothes radically transparent. They break down how much materials, labor, transportation, duties, and hardware are and they tell you how much they are charging you versus how much it cost to make the item. And when you view an article of clothing you can see where and what factory made that article of clothing and get the 411. talk about transparency.
5. Girlfriend Collective: Since lululemon is a very trendy athletic clothing brand I want to provide an alternative. This brand makes workout clothing from recycled water bottles. Their fan-favorite Compressive High Rise Leggings are made from 25 recycled water bottles. In the process of making the leggings, they save 18.61 CO2 and 3.11 gallons of water. On top of it, this brand is cheaper than Lululemon. The Lululemon leggings rang from $88 to $188 while Girlfriend collectives leggins are $68.

Giving up fast fashion doesn’t have to be a rapid process. Since we’re students most likely our parents buy most of our clothes. Parents might not want to spend a lot of money on staple pieces. So you may be wondering how can I be sustainable while on a budget. Well, you can look out for sales that sustainable brands are putting on their social media. But the most important low budget fast fashion tip is to THRIFT. I cannot express it enough thrifting is the best way to be sustainable when buying clothing. Thrifting is the best way to be sustainable because of you when you buy secondhand you’re saving new materials being made, saving the old materials from being in a landfill. Since thrifting has become trendy due to the rise of social media like Tik Tok, Youtube Instagram, etc you can now thrift online if you don’t have any thrift stores around you that satisfy your style preferences. My favorite app is Depop my best friend Riley and I are avid businesswomen when it comes to selling our junk on this app. I use this resource to buy clothes from unethical companies so my money doesn’t go directly to supporting that unethical brand. You can also buy and sell many different things on Depop like, Skincare, Videogames, Makeup, and etc.

That’s my beginner’s guide to sustainable fashion I will also link some videos by ethical YouTubers talking about how to buy sustainably and link some sustainable clothing hauls. Just remember that you can start out slow like by just thrifting when looking for dresses for a school event. Every little step helps our planet.

Yours Truly,

Norah Wiley