This guide is all about helping you to buy ethical clothing on a budget: the how, the why and the when. Because sustainable fashion isn’t just the privilege of the rich. Ethical fashion is for everyone because we live in a world of infinite choices!
What does it all mean, though? Well, ethical affordable clothing of course refers to clothing that is made without hurting people or the planet. In practice that means that sustainable clothing brands:
- abide by fair labor laws
- provide safe working conditions for their workers
- pay living wages
- operate in as eco-friendly a manner as possible: low waste and environmental impact in terms of materials, production and carbon footprint
- stay clear of using animals in product testing or the actual production
- operate as transparently as possible: the customer can trace their supply chain all the way to the beginning.
To get the gist of building a sustainable wardrobe, you should always ask yourself these questions before opening your wallet:
- Do I need this? If yes, get it! If not sure, sleep on it. If you just want it, consider secondhand instead.
- Will I wear and re-wear this? Clothes that you plan to wear for a long time should be bought new. If not, consider renting.
- Can I be sure that this actually is an ethical clothing brand? If the brand claims to be ethical but operates as a fast fashion brand, the brand is lying. It’s called greenwashing. Stay away from those!
That’s the quick guide to ethical clothing, but let’s dig a little deeper. How can you build a proper sustainable wardrobe? And how do you make sure you don’t get bamboozled by brands just pretending to be sustainable clothing brands to get your money?
How to shop ethical clothing on a budget?
So, how does it actually work when it’s near-impossible to know which actually are ethical clothing brands and which aren’t? It’s pretty difficult to find affordable sustainable clothing brands when over 70% of clothing is made out of polyester but labeled “green”.
There’s no need to despair, though, I got you covered! These are the easiest fashion hacks for making sure you shop ethical sustainable clothing:
- Buy less to choose better: when you prioritize quality over quantity you can wear what you buy longer and save a lot of money. Aim for versatile, durable pieces that you can mix and match with pieces you already own.
- Figure out your personal style: when you know what really works for you, you can invest in better basics like jeans, a coat, a pair of shoes. Focus on durability and forget about trends: those basics are trendy every three years.
- Choose better materials: natural fibers, like organic cotton, linen, wool, etc. are much better for your skin. Also recycled fibers and low-impact synthetics are a better option than buying fast fashion. Avoid highly toxic/unsustainable fabrics like conventional cotton, cheap viscose and polyester from dubious sources.
- Shop secondhand first: the most budget-friendly options are thrift stores and online resales like Depop, Vinted, local Facebook Marketplace, etc. Shopping secondhand is the best way to combine ethics and low cost.
Find your ethical dream dress from:
Low cost styling tips
If the best ethical clothing brands are out of your budget, there’s still plenty of options available! The number 1 most affordable ethical clothing can be found in your (or your mum’s) wardrobe! These tips fall under the Shop Your Wardrobe category and include the following:
- Repair and tailor: learning to do a little bit of sewing and clothing repair allows you to fix small damages like replacing buttons. After a while you’ll be altering hems and sleeves for better fit to extend the garment’s life and to save a long penny.
- Extend your clothes’ lifespan by taking care of them: always abide by the care labels attached to your clothes. This helps you extend the clothes’ lifecycle: wash less with cold water, air dry, use gentle detergents, etc.
- Buy from transparent ethical clothing brands: if a brand doesn’t provide factory info clearly, it’s probably not a sustainable brand. Audits, supplier lists and worker policies should be easily available and checkable.
- Do not trust only certifications: GOTS, Fair Trade, OEKO-TEX, Bluesign are certificates that indicate different kinds of ethical standards. But these certificates can be bought, so they don’t actually say anything about a brand’s sustainability. For example H&M and Zara have all sorts of certificates even though they are fast fashion brands = far away from ethical.
- Prioritize local options: this may be a more pricey option but the 2nd best way to ensure that you dress ethically is to shop from small local makers. Check local markets for lower-impact pieces and support your local economy.
Best tips for a sustainable wardrobe
The Outlandish Blog is all about making it easy for you to find the best ethical clothing brands! And before we dive into how you can transfer your wardrobe by preferring ethical sustainable clothing, here’s a group of listicles about sustainable fashion brands:
Best Sustainable Jeans Brands – TOP 13 Brands
17 Ethical Fashion Brands – The UK Edition
Best European Fashion Brands – TOP 6 Sustainable Luxury Brands
14 Sustainable, Size Inclusive and Affordable Fashion Brands
Best Leather Bag Brands in Europe – See the TOP 5
And now; how to make sure your wardrobe consists of (at least) mainly ethical affordable clothing? These tips are specifically for shopping new clothing. Unfortunately sustainable shopping requires some research because there is so much greenwashing going on. One part of the shopping process for ethical clothing is to check the following things:
Durability vs. price – Expensive ≠ quality and cheap ≠ a bargain
Confused? No worries, I got you covered! The fashion industry has gone through a massive shift in the past 10 years, which means that the old luxury brands are now just fast fashion brands. It’s called the enshittification of the fashion industry, and it means that paying thousands for a “luxury bag” doesn’t actually provide you with any value or quality in return.
I proved this by investing in a brand that 10+ years ago still created high quality products. I was 10 years too late though, and once I tried to return the bad quality luxury bag, the lack of ‘luxury’ became very clear indeed.
More on the topic: Paying Thousands For A Luxury Brand Bag Is STUPID!
But it also works the other way round: cheaper clothes often cost more over time. This is simply because they are such low quality that you need to buy more and more constantly. Paying very little for shit quality is not a bargain, it’s just shit. And the constant shopping sneakily accumulates your spending without you noticing. Until it’s too late.
So, the first tip for ensuring you shop for ethical clothing is to learn to tell good quality from bad quality. Then you can easily calculate cost per wear: the longer you can wear a piece of clothing, the cheaper it is.
Check brand’s transparency
You can recognise sustainable clothing brands quickly by checking their ‘sustainability’ section on their website. Just the existence of such a page isn’t enough though. Instead, that page should include clear details and links that enable you to track where the brand’s materials come from and where their clothes are made.
The question to ask is; can you trace where and how the brand’s clothes were made? If all you can find are vague statements without concrete proof or any sort of practical examples, the brand is lying to you. Instead, if the supplier chain is clearly presented, preferably with the factories’ contact details included, you’ve probably found an ethical clothing brand.
Consider the environmental impact of clothes
It’s not just about making sure you shop the best ethical clothing brands, but you should also pay attention to the clothes themselves. The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters on the planet, and most of their pollution comes from the production of clothes.
For example, producing one pair of jeans requires 7 500 liters of water… Just one pair! In addition, most fabrics available in stores these days are synthetically made polyester, viscose, etc. These fabrics are made out of petrol(!!), which requires intense amounts of very toxic chemicals.
Obviously petrol is not a healthy substance to cover your skin with every day, is it? But when you add to that the traces of the toxic chemicals… why would you buy such poison to wear?? Especially if you mainly order clothes online, because then you need to add the transport emissions as well.
And remember that when you order online and send a product back, that product goes straight into landfill. No, those pieces are not sold on. Another good reason to make sure you shop for the long-term and learn to care for your clothes.
Certifications = greenwashing
Ethical sustainable clothing should be easy to recognise according to green certifications, right? WRONG! The best known eco-certificates for organic cotton, etc. are certificates that anyone can buy. These organisations are supposed to do regular audits to make sure the brands are legit. But since the biggest fast fashion giants boast these certificates, I’d say it’s all a load of bullshite.
The second important point about this is the fact that many ethical clothing brands are small companies. As such, they don’t have any budget to spare to buy expensive certificates… Which is probably best considering it would put them in the same category with H&M.
More often than not, a brand marketing themselves as “sustainable” and “ethical” with a certificate attached is just greenwashing. Big brands can buy certificates and engage in misleading marketing, which does big damage to actual sustainable clothing brands.
Knowing your size and style ensures longevity
One of the best ways to know that investing in ethical clothing is actually worth it, is knowing your size and style. Vanity sizing is a rude tactic that fast fashion stores use to make you shop more and more. Even in one store you can find two shirts marked as size Medium but one is actually Large and the other one’s Small.
Especially if you prefer to order online, you should always check the measurement table to ensure you order the right size. Obviously measure yourself first and write the numbers up to remember them. This is to avoid disappointment but also to reduce your environmental impact.
And to make sure you’ll wear the clothes for a long time, only shop for items that you’re completely in love with and that you can style multiple ways. If you’re not quite sure what your personal style is, start with classic pieces, cuts and neutral colors.
Classic pieces are easy to mix and match together, and that way you can create multiple outfits with just a few pieces. In addition, a unique style is much better than drowning in the “trendy” crowd.
Conclusion – Cost-saving check-list for ethical clothing
Best ethical clothing brands make sure that the planet and you get the best because you both deserve only the best! And no, sustainable clothing brands don’t need to cost you an arm and a leg! Sustainable shopping comes in many shapes and forms because we live in a world of abundant choices.
In order to make sure you only shop ethical affordable clothing from now on, here is your check-list:
- Prefer secondhand to new: Check your local thrift stores and online resale sites before opting to buy new.
- Learn to repair clothing: Mending small breakages saves you a long penny and enables you to wear your favourite pieces for longer.
- Shop your wardrobe: On those “I have nothing to wear!” days, look at your wardrobe from a different angle; choose a piece you want to wear and match it with items in your closet that you haven’t worn it with before.
- Clothes swapping: Get together with friends and swap clothes you don’t want to wear anymore. Finding a new home is better than adding to the fashion waste problem.
- Consider the cost-per-wear: When buying new (because sometimes we must), calculate the cost-per-wear. That means price ÷ estimated wears. The longer you think a piece will last, the cheaper it becomes.
- Forget trends, stay true to your style: Invest in classic corner stones for your wardrobe. Neutral, multi-use pieces can be mixed and matched with other classic pieces as well as trendy one-off items again and again.
How does it seem? Would you like to shop less but better going forward? Or do you think that you’ve got no role to play in keeping this planet livable for the next 50 years?
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