In the Beginning – The Start of My Conscious Fashion Journey
The beginning of my conscious fashion journey can be separated into two chapters, the dream and the mental process. The dream kickstarted my discovery of ethical fashion and kept me motivated, but it was changing my consumer mindset that transformed me into who I am today.
The Dream
Where did it all start? It started as a crazy dream, as a vision board on my wall. I imagined myself as Camille, the sustainable fashion designer. There I stood in the middle of the board next to two models wearing my elaborate designs. It was a fairy tale, but I didn’t know that yet.
My naïveté was propelling me into an industry more complex, cut-throat and nasty than I could have imagined. I moved forward into the darkness, wide-eyed and making every mistake. Decisions were made based on gut feeling not cash flows. But within the uncertainty something beautiful and unexpected began to take shape. Yes, there were some cute clothes, but most importantly, I began cultivating a community and bringing people together.
From the moment I consciously chose sustainable fashion as my life’s purpose, there seemed to be a path emerging with opportunities piling up. I started a blog, chronicling my upcycling adventures. An Etsy store was created to sell the upcycled creations. I committed to buying only thrifted (mainly Kaimuki Goodwill) clothing for a year. Started volunteering, then organizing events for Hawaii Fashion Month. This all culminated in founding a conscious fashion organization with fellow sustainable fashion nerds.
I wasn’t designing the elaborate gowns that I saw on my vision board, but I was empowering others to grow their ethical fashion brands and reaching out to people in the community who hadn’t been exposed to conscious fashion. I came to realize that although design is important to the process, my ability to see the bigger picture, and inspire through story telling made me more impactful to the cause as a writer and organizer.
I look back fondly now, proud of myself for pushing through. It allowed me to find my place in the fight against fast fashion and gave me the direction I needed before throwing myself into the New York fashion world. Even though my early sustainable fashion days in Hawaii pale in comparison to what I have faced since moving to NYC, and what I’m sure I’ll face in my next chapter, it’s comforting to know that I’ll have the strength and self-accountability to keep going.
The Process
On a more personal level, the act of changing my consumer behavior proved to be the most crucial and challenging part of my journey. If you’re going to preach it, you better practice it. This forced me to examine what sustainable fashion meant for me and how I could fit it into my broke just-out-of-grad-school budget. For me, this meant thrifting and upcycling.
The first few months of committing to a sustainable fashion lifestyle was rough, it was hard to wrap my head around spending more money on quality products or buying thrifted goods that were bold fashion statements. I had panic attacks about how to buy clothes, and what sustainable fashion really meant. I lectured my friends whenever we went shopping that they shouldn’t buy clothes from the store we walked into, and would constantly be checking tags to see what garments were made of and where they were made. It was paralyzing.
Yet, as I went deeper into the world of thrifting and learned how to tweak pieces to make them my own, and I fell in love. By giving each garment a special touch and buying unique quirky pieces, my wardrobe was completely mine. Each piece of clothing had a story and I began to feel a deeper connection to what I put on my body.
Switching from a fast fashion to a conscious mindset is an ever evolving process, one that demands patience and curiosity. I’m still on my path and am far from perfect. Tools like this blog, surrounding myself with a supportive community and inspiration from designers and change-makers help me stay accountable. It’s been four years, and I’m still excited to learn more and find new ways to express myself through ethical fashion choices.
Conscious Running – From Mind to Shoes
Today’s post is an exercise in how I approach a clothing buying decision. I’m highlighting an area that is tough to shop sustainably, running gear. I have some go to brands, but it’s an area where there is constant innovation and I’m always looking to discover new products.
But first, a quick ode to running. I was never much of a runner when I was younger, I hated it in high school. I tried running a bit in college, but never more than a couple miles and it always felt like a chore. I didn’t fall in love with running until grad school, when I was living in Japan for a year. I made a commitment to myself to run every day for the rest of the year, this was at the beginning of December. Then January rolled around and I just kept running.
I used the time to clear my mind, listening to the sound of my breath; feeling the air fill my body and then letting go. Suddenly running wasn’t something forced and painful, it was something I could use to be with myself and let my anxiety melt away.
When I started my conscious fashion lifestyle, running gear was top on my list of items to research. I’m breaking it down by shoes and clothes, since my thought process was different for each.
Shoes
It’s been a hard fact for me to swallow the fact that no matter what I do, I have to buy new running shoes regularly otherwise I’m putting my body at risk of injury. There is nothing that I can do to make the shoe last longer after I’ve run 300+ miles on them. (If you have any ideas on how to do this, please share!)
Since I’m training for the NYC marathon, that means I have to buy new shoes every 3 to 4 months. Because of that, finding a shoe that is recyclable and low impact is important to me. You might be shocked to hear this, but I wear Nike. Nike Flyknits. I chose these due to the FlyKnit design that knits the top of the shoe with zero waste. Then, when I’m done, I just take them into a Nike store or send them in to be recycled.
There are other brands with innovative technologies as well. Adidas, for example, has created a shoe out of recycled water bottles. Newtown Running is the first running shoe B Corp brand. There are also other alternatives to Nike for shoe recycling, such as Soles 4 Souls and Shoes for Planet Earth.
Clothes
When I first started running, I would just scrounge up old T-shirts and gym shorts for my runs, I didn’t really care what I looked like. As I spent more time running and realized how a cute running outfit could motivate me to push myself harder, I started looking into sustainable (and somewhat affordable) running clothes. Generally speaking there are two types of sustainable running gear, recycled polyester/plastic or natural organic cottons/merino wool.
There’s a lot of interesting innovation and creative new brands in the world of recycled polyester/plastic. One of my favorite new pair of leggings is from Girlfriend Collective, which makes their products out of recycled water bottles in an SA8000 certified factory in Vietnam. For more of a boho chic vibe, Teeki is another great recycled water bottle legging brand, but they’re not quite as practical for running. You can also sort products on Nike by those using recycled polyester. Threads 4 Thought is another great brand using recycled polyester, and their clothes perform well for running. Once you start looking, you’ll realize that these products are popping up all over.
On the flip side there is the all natural way of merino wool and cotton products. Wool is literally a miracle fiber, it is moisture wicking and unlike polyester will not lock in bad odor. It also miraculously has the ability to keep you both warm and cool. Icebreaker has some amazing merino wool running gear that is ethically sourced in New Zealand. Cool new it activewear brand, Outdoor Voices, also has a merino wool collection, among others.
Of course you could do what I do what I first started running and wear second hand t-shirts and old running shorts. But, when you run as much as I do, it’s important to have gear that will make you feel empowered to perform your best.
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Once you discover which materials fit into your conscious fashion world, it’s easier to move forward from there. I like the idea of having an activewear brand that collects materials to recycle or will take back their products to recycled for you, in effect closing the product lifecycle loop. Patagonia is committed to making all their products renewable, but it would be great to see this extend beyond sustainable fashion’s poster child.
I’m always open to hearing about new brands and ideas if you’d like to share. Leave a comment or send a note!
Conscious Fashionista – The Clean Fashion Diet
Taking the Plunge
If you’re the type of person that loves Zara, H&M, and Forever 21, I get it, I’ve been there. I started my clean fashion/conscious fashionista journey three years ago and I’m still not perfect. I have my slip ups and moments of weakness, but that’s ok. We’re all human and like any diet, you are bound to have some setbacks.
The important thing is to shift your mindset. As a consumer you vote with your dollar, and you should know what policies and business practices your money goes towards. It’s easy to ignore or be ignorant to how our clothes are made. Most brands are not transparent about their supply chain and oftentimes production happens abroad, negatively affecting communities we’re not a part of.
Many words get thrown around when talking about this alternative fashion movement, sustainable, eco, fair trade, slow, etc. It can be confusing with different labels and definitions depending on which perspective people are taking on the issue. There also tends to be a lot of blame and judgement thrown around, making it an exclusive clique where outsiders don’t feel welcome. I’m attempting to open up this world a little and define the mindset of those taking part in the movement, and the steps you can take to stand with us.
I choose the words conscious and ethical because they are not tainted by overuse or greenwash marketing…as of yet. Furthermore, words like sustainable and fair trade are only facets of the movement. I’m certainly not the first person defining the field but for me it goes beyond the clothes themselves to the consciousness of the consumer. I’ll leave you with my definition below:
Conscious Fashionista – An individual who expresses themselves through clothing that is well made and long lasting, with minimal to no negative impact on the earth and people who created them. They celebrate innovation, impeccable design, cultural traditions and craftsmanship. The Conscious Fashionista is mindful of the damage caused by fast fashion and is fighting back by sharing her ethical fashion story and standing up against fast fashion.
Sounds simple, but it can be hard to go against the grain of our consumer culture. Here are some guiding principles to help get you started and stay on track.
Track and Trace – Know the Source
Depending on the brand, this can be tricky. But if it is too difficult to confirm that the materials are responsibly sourced, or that they are treating their workers well, you probably shouldn’t be shopping there. Many brands these days have their “corporate social responsibility” blurb, which sounds really nice, but there’s usually more to the story. Take H&M for example, they are pushing a lot of sustainability initiatives and even producing with their own sustainable line, but they are still creating massive amounts of waste and producing at potentially unsafe factories with unfair working conditions. This is where you have to make your own judgement call, do the sustainability initiatives make up for everything else? It’s your call, but make sure you’re well informed and can stand behind your choices.
It helps to narrow down the main causes you care about as opposed to ethical fashion as a whole. Whether it be organic materials, locally made, fair working conditions, etc. Choose one or two that you’re truly passionate about and let that drive you.
For me, I love vintage as well as long lasting classic pieces that are produced fairly. Before I shop, I think of anything I’m missing from my wardrobe and research different types of styles and fit to see what I actually want before stepping foot in a store, or purchasing online. I have a handful of go-to brands that I’ve researched and trust, if I don’t see what I want there, I hit the vintage stores. The goal is to buy products that you will cherish.
Quality and Tradition – Know Your Fashion
Did you learn to sew with your mom? Or maybe your grandma taught you to knit? These days maybe not, but traditionally clothing was a very personal and cultural experience. You were given heirloom products from your older family members, and you’d spend hours creating and making textiles together. These traditions have largely been lost due to the globalization and industrialization of our communities. Part of becoming a conscious fashionista is to reconnect to these roots and appreciate the garment as something that should be well made and non-disposable.
This is not to say that you need to make all your clothes, but to celebrate designers and innovators. Find brands you can stand behind and understand what makes their products so special. If you appreciate what goes into making a quality piece of clothing, the better you can spot the subtleties in great, well thought out design.
Again you’ll need to decide what is most important to you, quality design means different things to different people. Some people choose to follow artisan brands preserving cultural crafts, others follow tech companies creating radical new ways of recycling textiles. Whatever you choose, just start following, sharing stories and engaging in the community, this is a great first step.
Share the Love – Tell Your Story
At the end of the day, fashion is about expression and having fun. You should feel confident and empowered when you get dressed in the morning. Being a conscious fashionista is showing pride in your clothes and being excited about their story. When seeing someone who is well dressed and confident in their style, others follow suit.
Share the love on Facebook, Instagram, e-mail, or however you connect with those close to you. Even just by talking about it when you’re out with your friends, or if a co-worker compliments you on your clothes, tell them your story.
One thing I’m wary of is how easy it is to get preachy when talking about the ethical fashion movement. Instead I hope to shine a light on how easy it can be, and how this can be an extension of what you may already practice. By training ourselves to look deeper and ask questions about how our clothes were sourced, and who made them, we are starting a slow cultural shift. Together we are becoming more aware of the damage caused by fast fashion, and the strength of being more mindful and conscious of your power as a consumer.