The trees are blooming, the air is warm, and the birds have returned for their encore as early morning alarm clocks. It’s official – spring has sprung! And with the arrival of warmer spring weather, many of us naturally want to switch up our wardrobes with the changing seasons. But updating our style can be unsustainable, both for our planet and our wallets. From donating old items to finding planet-friendly new buys, this guide has our best tips for sustainably refreshing your wardrobe in time for spring.

Declutter Your Closet

It’s called spring cleaning for a reason! Before getting anything new, set aside time to say goodbye to the old and make more room in your closet. There are several methods you can employ to declutter your wardrobe. For example, the popular Marie Kondo method suggests going through your closet and determining which items spark joy. If an item doesn’t spark joy, then off it goes! Once you’ve sorted your clothing into ‘stay’ and ‘go’ piles, resort through the ‘go’ pile and determine which items are in good condition to be donated or given away. 

To responsibly dispose of clothing that can’t be donated, consider enlisting the support of ethical household waste services in your area to ensure items are properly recycled. Donating gently used clothing to your local op shop or shelter not only gives your clothes a second life but also fosters a sense of community and shared responsibility. But just because clothing isn’t suitable for donation, it doesn’t mean these garments have to go straight to landfill. By keeping your old clothes out of landfills with ethical waste disposal solutions, you’ll greatly minimise your environmental impact as a fashion consumer.

Opt to Op Shop

And speaking of consumerism, did you know that fast fashion takes a massive toll on the environment? Fast fashion items are designed to last only a season, so they aren’t constructed with longevity and durability in mind. When they go out of style or sustain damage, these items are often thrown into landfills, leading to tonnes of textile waste. The fast fashion business model is unsustainable – it requires large amounts of resources and high turnover, neither of which are good for our planet.

By embracing secondhand fashion this spring, you can do your part to reduce waste and give perfectly good clothing a longer lifespan. Your community’s local op shops are home to a wide range of clothes and accessories you won’t find anywhere else. Sorting through the op shop for the perfect item is like a treasure hunt – the thrill of the search is just as valuable as the find. You’ll not only be building a more environmentally conscious wardrobe but also curating a unique collection that feels entirely your own.

Build Around Basics

Springtime sustainable shopping doesn’t have to break the bank! One tip to shop more sustainably on a budget is to invest in high-quality basics that you can easily dress up or down to fit any look. Basics are simple pieces of clothing that usually come in neutral colours and classic cuts. They are timeless, versatile and durable, meaning they go with everything and can be worn for years to come. Essentials like white T-shirts, heavy denim jeans, and trenchcoats can be easily personalised using thrifted accessories so that you can wear your basics this spring, next spring, and the spring after that!

Take note that it’s important to try and buy basics that are as high-quality as possible. Although this idea may be counterintuitive, investing in basic fashion pieces will be more sustainable financially and environmentally. High-quality basics may come with a higher upfront cost, but their cost-per-wear will be much lower than cheaper, low-quality alternatives. Investment pieces last longer, so you’ll need to buy fewer replacements over a longer period of time, saving you money and reducing your footprint. 

Choose Ethical Fashion

If the op shop doesn’t quite have what you’re looking for, or you’re searching for high-quality basics, then why not check out what’s in store with all your favourite sustainable fashion brands? Locally owned sustainable brands like Luna & Sun and Karuna Dawn have expanded their product range over the past few years, as the demand for sustainable fashion has grown steadily, and designers around the world are working to meet that need. Today, all of our favourite sustainable brands here at Velvety stand out from the crowd primarily because of their commitment to embracing more ethical and sustainable practices and setting an example for fashion retailers and brands both locally and globally. 

Some brands take great care to ensure their production and working conditions do not harm employees, communities, and animals. Other sustainable fashion houses commit to using only recycled products, with some implementing ‘buy back’ programs to ensure no clothing produced by their company contributes to textile waste. 

And then there’s the growing impact of slow fashion designers, who intentionally create small, infrequent collections of clothing that are made to last. These brands work tirelessly to encourage shoppers to make more responsible choices. You can find sustainable fashion brands to suit any style both in our brand directory as well as online, so do some shopping and research to participate in this revolutionary movement for yourself!

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Refreshing your wardrobe for spring this year can be done sustainably. Following the sustainable tips we’ve shared above can help streamline your spring wardrobe refresher and ensure you feel nothing but excited to revamp your look in time for the warm weather shift.

If your spring cleaning ritual includes tossing a few old garments to make room for the new, ensure you donate your gently used clothing to give it a second life and choose an ethical household waste service to keep your unusable clothing out of landfills. And our best tip: build your wardrobe around high-quality basics from sustainable fashion brands to minimise waste, and spice up your outfits with thrifted accessories from your local op shop. With these tips, you’ll create a planet-friendly wardrobe just in time for spring!