Environmental Fashionista
By Shelly Ben Ze'ev Zus, activist, Israel
Photos by: Yafit Dayan
Ever since I can remember myself I have always loved shopping for clothes. I didn't need any special reason to spend my money; it was enough for me to get the feeling of satisfaction every time I was trying a new trendy outfit I liked. When the clothes were on sale, I even bought a few colors from the same item just because I could afford it, because why not? I never stopped to wonder how can a shirt cost like a bottle of water. How was the price so cheap?
Fast fashion is the mass production of cheap, poor quality, disposable clothing.
A large share of the microplastic in the ocean are microfibers.
80% of the time we wear only 20% of our wardrobe
A single laundry wash releases more than 700,000 microscopic plastic fibers into the environment.
ONE IMPORTANT LABEL - THREE SIMPLE ACTIONS
Choose it well
Not by the brand or not by the trend, choose by the materials and fabrics it's made of. Ban synthetic and polyester and prefer organic and semi-synthetic instead. You can choose: Hemp, flax, cotton, bambook, lyocell or tencel.
Wash as needed
This little book attached to the garment, that we tend to automatically cut, is telling us important information like how hot the water should be when we do laundry, which critically affect fabrics, and the oceans
Make it last
Buy less fast fashion and use more of what you already have. Take good care of your clothes, so when the time comes and you won't wear them anymore you can sell it, thrift it, donate it, upcycle or recycle your old clothes.
