"The Conscious Closet" Answers (Many) Important Questions
If you’re already aware of the connections between fast fashion and human trafficking, you might be wondering, “Now what?” It’s a lot of tough information to digest and you might be wondering what you’re supposed to wear now. How are you supposed to shop? If you really enjoy expressing yourself through fashion, how can you keep doing it without contributing to forced/child labor?
From the author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Fast Fashion comes the manual we’ve all been waiting for: The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth Cline!
Elizabeth Cline wrote a thorough exploration of what the price tag on cheap, new, trendy items does not reflect in Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Fast Fashion. Dressember advocates have learned about how those who make our cheap clothes are treated, the inhumane conditions under which they work, and the rarity of garment creators earning a living wage.
If you’re already on information overload, it can be a challenge to know what to do next. What if you’re on a budget and you need new clothes? What if your favorite, ethically-made jacket gets stained or torn? Where are your clothing donations really headed?
Cline gives us ALL the options to help us feel good in our clothes without adding to the overflowing landfill or putting children to work on our behalf.
Cline generously starts her guidebook with questions some of us have likely never asked ourselves about what we like to wear. Her book begins with tools to identify our own fashion type (minimalist, traditionalist, or style seeker) to help us learn more about what we actually want to wear. In a similar spirit to Marie Kondo’s “spark joy” approach, Cline offers a practical strategy to starting with the clothes we already have to help us narrow down our options when we’re ready to shop.
Rich with resources, Cline lists organizations and companies striving to do better than dumping unwanted clothing donations in the landfill, or siphoning off their waste to developing countries. She also reveals how to support companies taking greater strides towards recycling their own clothing returns (for example, Eileen Fisher).
Once you know your style type and what makes you feel good to wear, Cline teaches how to shop consciously regardless of your fashion preferences or budget.
From how to thrift, to renting your favorite new trends, Cline’s book is absolutely packed with suggestions and resources.
If you have identified an expensive item in good condition and you’re ready to let it go, Cline has tips for selling your clothes. She’s realistic about everyone’s time and lifestyle and offers a clear, concise assessment on the potential payout of selling your items. You’ll walk away from this section feeling informed and armed with a strategy for recouping your costs.
Just to make sure you’re equipped with helpful insights when you shop secondhand, Cline explains some indicators that a clothing item was made cheaply (and, likely, with unethical labor practices).
The best way to fight against the disposable mindset we have around clothing is to take better care of our clothes—time to thank grandma for the skills she passed on!
When clothing is damaged, we have a tendency to toss it or donate it since we know replacements are readily available. Since our habits and dollars drive the fashion industry, we have a lot of power to change the current lack of sustainable practices by choosing more conscious brands AND taking much better care of what we already have.
Cline offers all her tips and tricks when it comes to keeping your clothes in good condition. Those tags on our clothes with the odd little geometric symbols? Those aren’t really care instructions. What those labels are designed to convey is the maximum tolerance of the garment, not how to keep them in good condition. Cline teaches how to care for you favorite clothes, step by step.
During a time in our history when the news of climate change and human rights violations can be so overwhelming, Cline’s book offers what you CAN do.
Cline’s truly digestible, straight-forward read, will answer every version of the question “Now what?” Moreover, if you feel she left something unanswered, she offers so many further reading resources and interviews with responsible entrepreneurs and designers, you’ll definitely find the answer.
Cline teaches us how to start in our own closets to make sure we’re supporting a more sustainable future. Her message is not one of deprivation—she teaches us how to care more about what we have and how to share what we have with one another. She challenges the meaning behind ownership and shows us how to show up in the world looking and feeling great. Everyone needs this book—you’ll learn so much.
About the Author
G Okuma started writing her dreams and fictional court cases at age 6. Her long-term collaborative relationship with words led her to the College of William & Mary and eventually to freelance writing. Aside from assisting clients with online content, she's learning to garden in the highland desert of the southwest, advocating for human and animal rights, writing letters to those seeking an act of friendship on Instagram (@dear.little.g), practicing and teaching yoga, and exploring art and life with her husband and two cats.