Did you know that every year Canadians produce enough textile waste to create a mountain 3x the size of the Rogers Centre? And that
85% (!!!) of our apparel ends up in the landfill!
So, what’s a girl to do when she needs a nice outfit for a special occasion or when her go-to work clothes have become worn out? Welp, there’s no denying that the fast fashion industry has made it so easy to go scoop up a new wardrobe even with a super low budget, and then you think nothing of the fact that you only have to wear it a few times to get your money’s worth since it was virtually pennies to begin with. Not to mention, the ease of accessibility in our era of Amazon Prime, Black Friday and in general online shopping. But there are alternatives! Consider investing in a few high-quality pieces that are timeless; take your worn out pieces to a tailor to be patched/sewn/hemmed/updated; shop at second hand; repurpose your old clothing (because you’re only fooling yourself when you’re dropping your stretched out, faded, filled with holes shirt at Value Village – ain’t nobody want that). But what about when you have a special event to go to that you want to wear a trendy, new outfit to? Instead of buying an outfit that you’ll never wear again, consider renting one! For example, The Fitzroy is a lovely local business in Toronto that specializes in just that – the most gorgeous, high-fashion dress rental for any type of event.
Eco-friendly, glamorous and supporting small businesses – what more could you ask for? You can also grab a few friends who are of a relatively similar size and do a clothing swap. So next time you feel like you have absolutely nothing to wear, consider an alternate way you can spruce up your wardrobe without contributing to an overflowing landfill.
