Flannel shirts are a versatile and stylish addition to any wardrobe, and buying them used has numerous benefits. In this article, we'll explore the economic, environmental, and fashion advantages of purchasing pre-owned flannels. We'll also share some tips on how to find the perfect used flannel shirt.
One of the biggest benefits of buying used flannel shirts is cost savings. Since they have been previously owned, they are often priced significantly lower than new shirts of comparable quality. This means you can enjoy the high-quality materials and construction of a flannel shirt without breaking the bank.
Not only are you saving money on the initial purchase, but pre-owned flannels can also be more durable than new ones. They have already been through the wear and tear of daily use, so you can trust that they will hold up over time. This means you'll save money in the long run by not having to replace your clothing as frequently.
Another economic advantage of purchasing used flannels is reducing waste in the fashion industry. The fashion industry is one of the largest polluters in the world, and by buying second-hand clothing, you're preventing perfectly good items from ending up in landfills. This helps reduce the overall waste and carbon footprint of the industry.
Additionally, buying used flannels can help reduce the demand for new flannels, which can lead to a decrease in the production of new clothing. This can help reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry by reducing the amount of resources needed to produce new clothing.
When you purchase a used flannel shirt from a thrift store or charity shop, your money goes to support local causes. This means you're not only getting a good deal on your clothing, but you're also doing your part to give back to your community.
Many thrift stores and charity shops are run by non-profit organizations that use the proceeds from their sales to fund various programs and initiatives. By purchasing from these stores, you're directly supporting these organizations and helping them make a positive impact in your community.
Furthermore, buying used clothing from local sources can help stimulate the local economy. By supporting local businesses and organizations, you're helping to create jobs and keep money within your community.
As we mentioned earlier, choosing to buy pre-owned clothing helps reduce waste in the fashion industry. This has a positive impact on the environment, as it means fewer resources are needed to produce new clothing. By purchasing a used flannel shirt, you're also reducing the carbon emissions associated with manufacturing and shipping new clothing items.
Furthermore, when you buy a used flannel shirt, you're not contributing to the demand for new flannel shirts. This means that fewer trees are cut down to make room for cotton fields, and fewer chemicals are used in the manufacturing process. Cotton is one of the most pesticide-intensive crops in the world, and by choosing a used flannel shirt, you're helping to reduce the amount of pesticides used in cotton farming.
Buying used flannels promotes sustainable fashion by extending the lifespan of clothing items. This means fewer resources are needed to produce new clothing items, and less waste ends up in landfills. By choosing pre-owned clothing, you're also sending a message to the fashion industry that sustainability is important to you.
Moreover, buying used flannels can be a great way to support local thrift stores and second-hand shops. By shopping at these stores, you're helping to keep these businesses open and supporting local economies.
The manufacturing process for new clothing items requires a significant amount of water and energy. By choosing used clothing, you're preventing the need for additional manufacturing, and thereby reducing the amount of water and energy required to create new clothing items.
In addition, the production of new clothing items often involves the use of toxic chemicals, which can have negative impacts on both the environment and human health. By choosing used flannels, you're helping to reduce the demand for new clothing items, and thereby reducing the amount of toxic chemicals released into the environment.
Overall, choosing to buy used flannels can have a significant positive impact on the environment. By reducing waste, promoting sustainable fashion, and reducing water and energy consumption, you're helping to create a more sustainable future. So next time you're in need of a new flannel shirt, consider checking out your local thrift store or searching for pre-owned options online.
Buying pre-owned flannels allows you to embrace one-of-a-kind pieces that can't be found in typical retail stores. Each shirt has its own story and history, which adds a unique element to your wardrobe. Plus, vintage flannels often have a distinct look that can't be replicated with new clothing.
Imagine owning a flannel shirt that was once worn by a lumberjack in the 1940s, or a shirt that was part of a grunge rocker's wardrobe in the 1990s. These shirts have character and personality that can't be found in mass-produced clothing.
Not only do vintage flannels offer a unique style, but they also promote sustainability. By purchasing pre-owned clothing, you're reducing waste and giving new life to a piece of clothing that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill.
Flannel shirts are a classic clothing item, and incorporating vintage flannels into modern wardrobes is a great way to add some vintage appeal to your look. You can wear them as a standalone statement piece, or layer them for a more versatile outfit.
Pair a vintage flannel with a pair of distressed jeans and combat boots for a grunge-inspired look, or tuck it into a high-waisted skirt for a more feminine outfit. The possibilities are endless when it comes to styling vintage flannels.
And don't be afraid to mix and match patterns and colors. Vintage flannels often have unique color combinations and patterns that can add a pop of interest to any outfit.
Choosing used flannels allows you to showcase your personal style in a unique way. By embracing vintage elements in your wardrobe, you're expressing your individuality and creativity, while also promoting sustainable fashion.
Accessorize your vintage flannel with a statement necklace or a pair of bold earrings to add your own personal touch. Or, wear it with a pair of vintage-inspired glasses for a retro look.
By choosing pre-owned flannels, you're not only adding a unique piece to your wardrobe, but you're also making a conscious choice to support sustainable fashion and reduce your carbon footprint. So go ahead and embrace the vintage appeal of pre-owned flannels - your wardrobe (and the planet) will thank you.
When it comes to finding the perfect used flannel shirt, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First and foremost, you'll want to inspect the shirt for quality and condition. This means looking closely at the fabric to ensure that it's not worn or damaged in any way. Check for holes, tears, or stains that may be difficult to remove. If you're buying online, be sure to ask the seller for detailed photos of the shirt so that you can get a better idea of its condition.
Once you've determined that the shirt is in good condition, take a closer look at the details. Check that all of the buttons are intact and that the seams are strong. Look for any signs of fraying or loose threads, as these can be an indication of poor quality.
Another important factor to consider when shopping for a used flannel shirt is sizing and fit. Flannel shirts come in a variety of styles and cuts, so it's important to choose one that fits you properly. Pay attention to the length of the shirt, as well as the fit through the shoulders and chest. You'll also want to consider any other sizing details that are important to you, such as sleeve length or collar size.
If you're unsure about your size or how a particular shirt will fit, don't be afraid to ask the seller for more information. Many online marketplaces have messaging systems that allow you to communicate directly with the seller, so take advantage of this feature if you have any questions.
Now that you know what to look for in a used flannel shirt, it's time to start shopping! There are a number of places where you can find pre-owned flannel shirts, including thrift stores, vintage shops, and online marketplaces like eBay and Poshmark.
Thrift stores are a great option if you're looking for a bargain. You can often find high-quality flannel shirts at a fraction of the cost of buying new. Plus, you never know what treasures you might uncover!
Vintage shops are another great option for finding unique and high-quality flannel shirts. These shops specialize in vintage clothing, so you can be sure that you're getting a truly authentic piece. Plus, many vintage shops have knowledgeable staff who can help you find the perfect shirt for your needs.
If you prefer to shop online, eBay and Poshmark are both excellent options. These marketplaces allow you to browse a wide selection of pre-owned flannel shirts from the comfort of your own home. Just be sure to read the seller's descriptions carefully and ask any questions you may have before making a purchase.
With these tips in mind, you're sure to find the perfect used flannel shirt for your wardrobe!
As you can see, there are numerous benefits to buying used flannel shirts. Whether you're looking to save money, reduce waste, or express your personal style, pre-owned clothing is a great option. By following the tips we've shared, you can find the perfect used flannel shirt for your wardrobe, while also making a positive impact on the environment and supporting local causes.
]]>Thrift shopping has become increasingly popular in recent years, but where did it all begin? To understand the rise of thrift shopping, we have to go back to the origins of the thrift industry.
The concept of thrift dates back to the early 19th century when charities and religious organizations would collect second-hand clothing and sell them to raise funds for their causes. However, it wasn't until the Great Depression of the 1930s that thrift shopping gained widespread popularity.
During the Depression, many people were struggling to make ends meet, and buying new clothing was often out of reach. As a result, people turned to thrift stores as a more affordable option. These stores were often run by charitable organizations and sold donated clothing and household items at a fraction of the cost of new items.
In the decades that followed, thrift stores continued to grow in popularity, and their inventory expanded beyond just clothing and household items. Today, you can find everything from vintage and designer clothing to furniture and electronics at thrift stores.
The rise of thrift shopping in recent years can be attributed to a growing awareness of the impact of consumerism on the environment and a desire to reduce waste. Thrift shopping is a sustainable alternative to fast fashion and reduces the amount of clothing and household items that end up in landfills.
Thrift shopping has also become a way to express personal style and creativity. Many people enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the unique finds that can be discovered at thrift stores.
In addition to its environmental and fashion benefits, thrift shopping also has social and economic benefits. Thrift stores provide jobs and training for people who may have difficulty finding employment elsewhere. They also provide affordable clothing and household items to low-income individuals and families.
In conclusion, the history of thrift shopping is a fascinating one that has evolved from a charitable endeavor to a sustainable fashion and lifestyle choice. The popularity of thrift shopping is only expected to continue to grow as more people become aware of its benefits. So next time you're looking for a new outfit or household item, consider checking out your local thrift store and join the movement towards sustainability and unique style.
]]>Street style is a fashion phenomenon that has become increasingly popular over the past few years. It is a way for individuals to express their unique sense of style and creativity, and it often involves mixing and matching different pieces to create a look that is both fashionable and edgy. One of the biggest sources of inspiration for street style is thrifting, which involves buying second-hand clothing and accessories from thrift stores or other resale shops.
Thrifting has become a popular way for people to shop for unique and vintage pieces at a fraction of the cost of buying new clothing. It is also a sustainable way to shop, as it reduces the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills and reduces the demand for new clothing production. Many street style enthusiasts have embraced thrifting as a way to add unique and interesting pieces to their wardrobe while also staying on budget and minimizing their impact on the environment.
One of the main reasons that thrifting has become such a big influence on street style is the wide variety of items that can be found in thrift stores. Unlike traditional retail stores that often carry similar styles and designs, thrift stores offer a mix of vintage and modern clothing that can be combined in endless ways. From oversized blazers and denim jackets to graphic tees and funky accessories, thrift stores offer a treasure trove of fashion finds that can be incorporated into a street style look.
Another reason why thrifting has become so popular among street style enthusiasts is the thrill of the hunt. Finding a one-of-a-kind piece in a thrift store can be incredibly satisfying, and it often requires some patience and creativity to put together a cohesive outfit. This sense of adventure and discovery is a big part of what makes thrifting such a fun and rewarding experience.
In addition to being a source of inspiration for street style, thrifting also offers a way for individuals to express their individuality and personal style. By mixing and matching pieces from different eras and styles, thrifting allows people to create a look that is uniquely their own. It also encourages experimentation and creativity, as individuals are not limited by the trends and styles that are popular in mainstream fashion.
Overall, thrifting has become an important part of the street style movement, offering a sustainable and budget-friendly way to shop for fashion. By embracing the unique and diverse offerings of thrift stores, street style enthusiasts are able to create looks that are both fashionable and environmentally conscious. So the next time you're looking for inspiration for your own street style look, consider heading to your local thrift store to see what treasures you can uncover.
Crochet blankets are a stylish and practical accessory that can be worn in a variety of ways. Whether you’re looking to add a pop of color to your outfit or want to stay warm on a cool summer evening, a crochet blanket can be the perfect accessory.
1. One way to wear a crochet blanket is as a shawl or wrap. Simply drape the blanket over your shoulders and let it hang loose for a bohemian look.You can also wrap the blanket around your body and secure it with a belt or pin for a more polished appearance.
2. Another option is to wear a crochet blanket as a cape. Simply throw the blanket over your shoulders and let it flow behind you as you walk. This is a great way to add a touch of drama to your outfit and is perfect for events like music festivals or art shows.
3. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even wear a crochet blanket as a dress. Simply wrap the blanket around your body and secure it with a belt or pins at the waist. This is a bold look that’s perfect for making a statement at a party or special event.
In addition to being fashionable, crochet blankets are also practical. They can keep you warm on cool summer nights or provide an extra layer of warmth during the winter months.
They’re also great for traveling, as they’re lightweight and easy to pack.Overall, crochet blankets are a versatile and stylish accessory that can be worn in a variety of ways. Whether you’re looking to make a fashion statement or stay warm on a cool summer evening, a crochet blanket is the perfect addition to your wardrobe.
If you want some thrifted crochet blankets, we have ours right here!
]]>Flannels are a type of fabric that are soft, warm, and comfortable, making them a popular choice for clothing. While flannels have their origins in Wales, they have also played a significant role in American fashion history.
Flannels first arrived in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, where they were worn by manual laborers and farmers as a practical and durable form of clothing. The fabric was especially popular in the colder regions of the country, where its insulating properties provided much-needed warmth during the winter months.
In the early 20th century, flannels made their way into mainstream fashion, and were often used to make suits, pants, and shirts for both men and women. Flannels became especially popular in the 1920s and 1930s, when they were embraced by the preppy style that was popular at the time.
It wasn't until the 1980s, however, that flannels really took off as a fashion trend in America. During this time, flannels were embraced by the grunge music scene, and bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam helped to make flannel shirts a symbol of counterculture cool. Flannels were also popular with skateboarders and other youth subcultures, and became a staple of 1990s grunge fashion.
Today, flannels continue to be a popular choice for casual, comfortable clothing in America. They can be found in a wide range of colors and styles, and are often worn as shirts, but can also be found in the form of pants, dresses, and even pajamas. Whether you're a farmer, a musician, or just someone who loves the feel of a soft, warm flannel, this versatile fabric has a place in everyone's wardrobe.
]]>Need more convincing? Check out - and give a follow - to these thrift bloggers who ooze style, no matter what they are wearing.
All about sustainability with her style, That Curly Top (Jazmine Rodgers) is all about environmental justice in everything she does. Her vibe is to show that anyone can live with their style sustainably - even though it can be rough going if (like her) you are used to spending $$$ at the mall every weekend.
Her mantra is that small choices make a big impact and her Insta is full of daily decisions that she makes to make the world a better place. Follow her if you aren't afraid to fail and if trying new things is part of how you want to live your life.
I mean...the Insta handle pretty much says it all here no?
Proving that the thrift game exists anywhere in the world you want it to, Never Ever Pay Retail (Hannah) is thrifting her way around Australia. For her there are two reasons to thrift. Firstly, clothing is overpriced and the thrill of the chase makes every find worth it. Secondly, the clothing industry is among the biggest polluters in the world and not contributing to that cycle (while often helping out charity) is everything.
Follow here for tips on sustainability, saving money, and - as much as anything - to see what thrifting (and style) is like on the other side of the world.
Hey Allie XO (Allison Kelley) has pride in her swag. The self confessed polka-dot enthusiast thrifts for the pride it gives here in here clothing. Buying off rack in a chain store is easy. For Allison, the process of digging through thrift store sections - don't forget to check the men's section too! - means extra pride in finding an outfit that fits her style.
She is also another thrifter in it for the sustainability. She promotes that thrifting slows the cycle of clothing ending up in landfills and therefore the amount of waste that we create. Patience are love are the virtues you will find on here quirky Insta.
This one effortlessly stylish shot tells you everything you need to know about Taylor Made Style (Taylor Hawkes). Black in the spring is a fashion no-no, but it is a move that drips confidence. Taylor - who once told a YouTube commenter who told her she should look at a color wheel that she doesn't follow rules - is all about wearing what makes you feel good. That is why the haters aren't going to put an end to her all black spring ideas.
Sunset Saraid (Saraid Claxton) is a thrift/vintage store shopper who's Insta is just pure fun. She runs a blog where each week she creates an outfit from her finds inspired by another thrifter and is just genuinely full of energy and love for the world.
She sees her role in life as to help the environment by giving discarded clothes a second chance. She also notes how part of the fun of thrifting is to think about the lives the clothes had before she found them. This is especially true of vintage pieces which could hav been drip before drip was a thing.
What other thrifters are worth a follow? Let us at Goodfair know with a comment below!
]]>Since Allison P. Davis’ article was published in The Cut last month, Twitter, Tiktok, and even mainstream media have been abuzz with talk of the impending change to the sociocultural landscape, and what this shift means. In fact, discourse around the vibe shift has expanded to include almost everything: Will Smith’s Oscars slap, cryptocurrency, tech journalism, venture capital backed startups, Congress, and even the entire Western World Order!
While the articles linked above have various degrees of merit (I attempted to organize them from least to most substantial, don’t @ me), one can’t help but feel that the term is fast becoming oversaturated, suffering under the weight of its own ubiquity – I mean for goodness’ sake, “vibe shift” even has an entry on Know Your Meme!
Davis’ original classification of the term as “catchy but sort of too-cool” may be a partial reason for its memetic, viral spread, but it sheds light on a less obvious truth: calling what’s happening right now a “vibe shift” seems to be more of a marketing ploy, an attempt to establish a locus of control over a phenomenon that resists definition and containment. Simply put: the current vibe shift differs so radically from the previous eras that term-originator Sean Monahan describes that it cannot in truth be considered the same thing.
Rather than this new wave being the next point on a continuum of trends, we now seem to be approaching what trend analyst Mandy Lee describes as an implosion of the trend cycle, in which new microtrends emerge and fade with such rapidity that it will be as if they never existed. This is due in part to the passage of time: as Vice’s Bradley Esposito puts it, “the people [millennials] who are in charge of curating the internet are getting old.” In the meantime, their successors in Gen Z – ranging from household names like the Jenner and D’Amelio sisters to insiders like Zack Bia to obscure microinfluencers – are reaching maturity and asserting their own presence in the cultural conversation.
In fact, it should be telling that Esposito, Lee, Monahan, and Davis are millennials themselves – their understanding of this changing landscape is driven primarily by their professional proximity to the culture, and as members of culture’s old(ish) guard they are doing what they’ve done for their entire careers: commenting on what they see. The difference now is that their ability to use editorial to not only observe, but to steer, the cultural conversation in one direction is waning in some senses. This is not to say that they are approaching irrelevance; if anything, the collective decades of analysis between them and their peers make them invaluable to dissecting the specifics of this vibe shift and its implications for the public, or at least for the millennial and older members of the public.
This brings me to my main point: “the culture” is driven by youth, both socially and economically. Fashion designers have recognized this for decades, from Raf Simons’ SS 2000 “Summa Cum Laude” collection, inspired by the dress of MENSA students and Holland’s Gabba movement, to Hedi Slimane’s Celine SS 2021 “The Dancing Kid” collection for Celine, which drew heavily from the e-boy style that dominated early TikTok. However, after two years of isolation due to COVID 19, Gen Z has shifted away from a monolithic culture to one that is more personalized. The rise of the microinfluencer, as referenced above, is symbolic of the current youths’ prioritization of uniqueness and the resultant decentralization of fashion influence. These days, any teen with a smartphone can start posting fit pics and style videos and, with some algorithm influenced luck, develop a dedicated followship almost overnight.
The near constant spawning of new voices in the fashion space has led to an almost overwhelming amount of content created around personal style and aesthetic. Fashion companies have responded in one of two ways:
While the first method is not much different from how fashion has operated since its inception, the second is troubling. Fast fashion’s rise over the past decade, particularly among young consumers hyper obsessed with remaining in vogue has wreaked havoc with the environment. While consumers do share part of the responsibility for these damages, the majority of the blame lies with the corporations who seek to accelerate the trend and consumption cycle as a means of increasing profit with little to no regard for the damage they are doing to the Earth.
To speak plainly, it is ultimately our money as consumers that drives these fast fashion brands to ignore ethics in favor of profits. As such, while some of us are somewhat at fault (I am of course aware that fast fashion’s lower price points also make it a more affordable option for the economically less advantaged), the power to enact change also rests with us. My advice, therefore, is simple:
Stop caring about the vibe shift.
While this may seem overly general, its simplicity is part of its power. I’ll elaborate:
To Gen Z: we don’t need to care about vibe shifts or trend cycles because we ARE the vibe. Take this time to enjoy your youth, and relish in the fact that as decentralization of influence rises, so does the importance of personal style. You can wear whatever you want, create any aesthetic, and it will be fine. Dress for yourself.
To Millennials (and any trend obsessed Boomers reading): Albert Einstein offered some wisdom on your situation in saying, “I have reached an age where if someone tells me to wear socks, I don’t have to.” Enjoy the fact that with age and experience comes a certain dignity and freedom to do and wear what you want that differs from the freedom afforded to Gen Z. Part of aging with grace is acknowledgement and a gentle relinquishment of control to the next generation.
I should clarify that none of I’ve written means you need to forsake trends entirely. As Lee points out in a follow-up to her original video, the increasing importance of personal style can be effectively supplemented by trends, which introduce individuals to new colors, styles, and silhouettes. But the general vibe should be one that observes trends rather than obeys them.
Thrifting emerges as one possible answer to the apparent dilemma of maintaining an “up to date” wardrobe while also being a conscious consumer. Local thrift stores, sustainable fashion brands *cough cough* Goodfair *cough cough*, and online vintage stores from companies like Nordstrom all provide garments that will get noticed without killing the planet. Plus, wearing vintage clothes is a fun way to wink at trends gone by and “vibe shifts” for consumers of all ages – what better way to face the unpredictable future than embracing the past?
I’d sign off with a “good luck,” but I don’t think you’ll need it – we’re all going to survive this vibe shift just fine.
But for just a second, let’s stop pitting these two figures who have been thrust into the limelight against each other and take a moment to appreciate them, and their styles, as individuals. Sorry to all the fans who thought this was going to be a competition.
Until his foray into the world of celebrity dating, Pete Davidson was a relatively underexposed celebrity, due in part to his complete lack of interest in social media. But a series of relationships more high visibility than a 3M jacket with the likes of Ariana Grande, Kaia Gerber, and now Kim Kardashian has put him, and his clothing choices, front and center.
However, the public eye has not changed his wardrobe significantly. Davidson, like many comedians before him, has adopted an attitude of charmingly aloof near bewilderment at the mere fact that people are paying to listen to him joke about things. This “don’t care” attitude, which constitutes the basis of the BDE that has made him the celebrity crush of the masses and many of his famous peers, directly maps to his closet.
Davidson is often described as a prime example of the “scumbro” aesthetic, which combines elements of 90s grunge and early-to-mid 10s hype streetwear with a general demeanor of not giving a fuck what one looks like. Although Davidson is certainly a prominent figure in this movement, he is not its originator – celebs like Jonah Hill, Shia LaBeouf, and the Odd Future crew (whose notable alums include style messiahs like Tyler the Creator and Frank Ocean) have been bringing the grungy but colorful energy for the better part of the past decade, well before Davidson was even a name.
Additionally, while one of the key aspects of this style is its confidence and lack of concern, many of Davidson’s recent looks are the works of his personal stylist Britt Theodora. This would imply that even a man defined by his relaxed confidence benefits from professional help when under the spotlight. And for the viewers at home, this means that channeling Pete Davidson is not as simple as just throwing on whatever clean clothes are in your closet – even a carefree look requires some curation and a certain attention to detail. Read on for some tips on how to get started curating Pete’s aesthetic.
In contrast to Davidson, who is just now emerging as a fashion figure, Kanye has gone through over a decade of different aesthetic eras and been recognized as a visionary and a taste maker in each of them. On top of this, he has cemented his spot in the annals of both high fashion and streetwear history as not just a successful designer in his own right, but as the discoverer of talented young creators like Demna Gvasalia (Vetements, Balenciaga), Jerry Lorenzo (Fear of God), Matthew Williams (Alyx, Givenchy), and of course the late Virgil Abloh (Off-White, Louis Vuitton). And last but not least, he has served as the personal stylist for some of his most high profile romantic partners including Amber Rose, Julia Fox, and of course Kim herself, who credits him for establishing her as a Fashion Icon.
Kanye’s connection to fashion, both as an industry and an art form, is perhaps too prolific for us to digest in just one article, so let’s focus on what I’ll call the “Donda era,” which spans from Kim’s petition for divorce to present day (for those interested in a history lesson, Grailed has a great summary piece on Kanye’s fashion and its impact from 2004 through 2020).
Kanye’s current aesthetic is in many ways a summation of some of his most notable previous arcs. It combines the austerity of his Yeezus tour – defined by monochrome fits, a constantly changing range of silhouettes, and those to-die-for Margiela masks – with the oversized, amorphous shapes of his Yeezy line and the workwear he wore in his Wyoming era.
The Donda era Kanye is characterized by oversized, body-type agnostic outerwear, like the frankly enormous puffer jackets he released as the first installment in his ten year collaboration with Gap. This means fashion enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes can embrace Kanye’s aesthetic of cozy but meticulously crafted streetwear with the same trademark confidence the rapper embodies. Additionally, Ye has brought back the face mask look that iconized him in the Yeezus era albeit in a different way – instead of the stone-studded works of art he donned in 2013, these new masks are more plain, ranging from simple black to a Michael Myers number that drew significant attention from press sources. Given the current state of the world, one may consider these new masks to be a form of avant-garde COVID couture, although Kanye’s own reasons for wearing them are likely very different.
Color-wise, Kanye has largely abandoned the bright neon, heavily branded looks of his College Dropout days in favor of multiple shades of beautifully matched black, monochrome primary colors, and garments utterly devoid of the almost tacky branded maximalism that defines most of modern rap style.
Even limiting our focus to just this past year of Kanye’s style still provides an almost overwhelming amount of information to process. But rest easy readers: we, along with every other fashion TikTokker, Youtuber, and publication, have some tips on how to translate the Donda era to your closet– read on.
So how do you, the everyday Joe or Josephine (because frankly either of these styles will work on any gender) in the street make use of Kanye and Pete’s style journeys? Well first, let’s understand what these two have in common:
This is the most important thing, not just about Kanye and Pete’s respective aesthetics, but about how they, and you (in this author’s humble opinion), should approach personal style. While fashion is always discussed in terms of external perception, it is ultimately a representation of what you as an individual want to portray about yourself. If you’re looking to give off a Pete Davidson or Kanye West vibe, the biggest thing you can do is to be aware of yourself – find the silhouettes, brands, pieces that work for you, and dress based on what you want as opposed to what you think society wants from you.
Constant awareness of oneself leads to the second commonality between Ye and Davidson that you can benefit from: both are curators of aesthetics as opposed to mere wearers of clothes. This means that based on the general aura they exude, they (or their team) assemble meticulously crafted outfits that best represent their public personas. Behind the nonchalance of Pete Davidson is a professional stylist that works to manifest his personality into carefully careless ensembles, and behind each of Kanye’s iconic looks is the artist’s well documented and prolific history as a designer and a lover of all things fashion.
For the viewers at home, this can be achieved by simply learning about the things you already own or reading into the histories of the brands that make up your grails list – understanding the designer’s inspirations and motives may lend fresh perspective to the things in your closet. And if you don’t have a closet full of designer – because let’s face it, who has that kind of money – take some time to study the color wheel and go try on a bunch of different things at your favorite thrift store or mall. There’s no better way to start building a new aesthetic than trying out a ton of different clothes.
Tying back into the first point, while it’s certainly alright to look to these two figures and other famous fashion personas for inspiration, ultimately you should not measure yourself against them or take their style as the end all be all on dressing. Firstly, many of these celebrities have financial resources and connections to designers that make recreating their exact looks nearly impossible. Second, none of these people are you! Even if you fancy your wardrobe as “Kanye inspired,” there is still so much room in that classification for you to make the clothes and outfits your own.
Ok philosophy is nice and all, but how does all this advice translate to actual pieces? Fear not, we’ve provided a few examples of various “Pete” or “Ye” style pieces that you can find almost anywhere, and some ideas on how to style them.
Dressing like Pete Davidson means curating an outfit that looks like it was just thrown together; pseudo-randomness is encouraged. We'd recommend starting with pieces like:
Don't be afraid to layer on different colors and patterns, but take a look in the mirror before stepping out to make sure nothing is clashing too hard.
To start dressing more like Kanye, the mandate is simple: block color pieces paired to make monochrome fits. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
Donda era Kanye looks are more about how you pair different pieces together to create an overall silhouette. And don't obsess over buying things that are the exact same color; tone-on-tone looks are your friend.
]]>You may have heard the phrase “progress over perfection” when it’s applied to ideas like climate change action or sustainability. Whether it’s the fly less movement, zero waste, or vegan diets, sustainability messages sometimes sound more like rules and restrictions than a hopeful way to solve problems.
Taken to the extreme, these concepts can be impossible to achieve day to day, especially for newcomers or people with special needs. For instance, bans on single-use plastic straws created debates on eco-ableism. It’s important to ask ourselves how inclusive the zero waste movement is for people with disabilities who rely on plastic straws to eat and drink.
This is just one example that shows how taking an absolutist stance on environmental issues can be counterproductive. Not only does it create a big barrier for others to enter the space, it gives the impression that there’s only one path towards solving environmental problems.
Instead, we need everyone to join in with their own diverse, unique perspectives. Until our system catches up and everyone has access, affordability, and relevant alternatives for living sustainable lifestyles, it’s ok to take different paths towards shared sustainability goals.
Here are our tips for making the sustainability space more inclusive.
1. Affordability
Sometimes products and services with green certifications or verifications cost more than the alternatives. This is especially true for most sustainable fashion brands. The reason is that clothing production which actually pays for the fair labor practices and real cost of materials should cost way more than the price points we’re used to seeing. This is because fast fashion dominates clothing sales and it’s really exploitative.
On the other hand, the most eco-friendly alternatives don’t have to have labels at all. Wild edible food grows for free in public spaces, for instance. Thrifting or buying from secondhand shops like Goodfair, Goodwill or Salvation Army is also more affordable and eco-friendly than shopping for new clothes.
Eating less meat can be another affordable way to do more with less, too. Meat is often more expensive than simple plant-based foods like beans, lentils, and rice. But now “plant based alternatives” are marketed as extremely expensive options for people who practice 100% vegan lifestyles.
Progress over perfection helps us remember that it’s more important to minimize impact holistically and across various aspects of your life. Buying more expensive products with “eco-friendly” labels is definitely not the only or even the best way to make an impact.
2. Accessibility
People living in low-income homes often don’t have the space, investment, or access to the most sustainable resources. This lack of access is a critical part of the environmental justice movement, which shows how access to clean and healthy residential environments is not distributed equally. Expecting people to plant trees, grow organic gardens, or install solar panels on land and roofs they don’t have won’t help our long term sustainability goals.
Instead, when we think from a more community-minded perspective, we can start to see how slowly building pathways to access helps so much. Making sure people who lack access have a say in sustainability decisions is super important, too.
3. Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlè Crenshaw to describe how multiple identities, whether it’s gender, sexual orientation, race, income, or ability intersect and create forms of disadvantage or privilege that are not traditionally recognized through just a single lens. Apart from being a way to describe discrimination, the concept of intersectionality is also important for solving sustainability issues.
People with intersectional lenses often have important insights on the ways problems like the climate crisis uniquely puts people like them at a disadvantage. This is even though they’ve contributed to the problem the least. Their perspectives are critical for making real progress.
The @Intersectionalenvironmentalist account recently posted a Venn diagram by @Pattiegonia about how to take climate action from where you’re at through an intersectional lens:
Whatever action item falls under every category is what you should be doing for the climate. Sustainability action is not just about following a set of guidelines set for you by someone else. It’s mostly about finding your true, authentic place in the movement. This means honoring your unique intersectional lens for solving the problems.
4. Growth mindset
In her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” Carol Dweck writes: “In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.” The idea of a growth mindset can apply to sustainability too.
You can start to improve from where you’re at and within your means. From there, the connections towards progress will start to build and multiply, especially as you inspire more new people to take action.
It’s fine if you don’t currently know exactly what you can do to help solve the climate crisis. If you start with an open mind and expect to grow and learn along the way, you’ll be a lot more helpful long-term than if you give up because you feel like a failure. At this point, it’s not an option to give up. We need everyone to work together in whatever flawed or messy way they can.
Until the systems are in place to provide the world we want, we need to celebrate the courageous imperfect actions people take to get there. Behind every imperfect action is an ambitious dream or demand about the future, which is ours to protect.
Don’t let impossible ultimatums make you feel guilty or ashamed about your sustainability progress. It’s the big picture that matters and our planet needs us to show up in whatever way we can right now.
Goodfairians know that one of the cheapest, easiest ways to make sustainability progress is to shop for pre-loved goods. Join 1039 other people who have taken our #nonewthings pledge to choose second hand alternatives when they shop. Learn more.
But first, did you know that buying a new leather jacket is super harmful for the environment?
Leather is also a part of the livestock industry, which accounts for 15% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and drives deforestation in the most biodiverse regions of the world.
This is why we suggest you buy and wear used and/or thrifted leather jackets. Read our guide to keeping leather jackets clean below.
Before we get to that, if you love the look of leather details on classic jacket styles, check out our Classic Varsity Jackets with durable leather sleeves.
Leather is very durable, yet ridiculously sensitive to cleaning products. Cleaning leather is a little complicated because you shouldn’t use bleach or ammonia-based products. Using too much water can also leave a stain. Unfinished leathers like suede and nubuck require different cleaning methods from finished leather, and you should probably take them to a professional.
Most leather jackets are made from finished leather. Keep in mind that it’s easy to scratch leather and even wear off its finish. Always use a soft cloth like an old cotton t-shirt to clean your leather jackets. Here are some techniques to try at home.
Non-oil stains
Blot with damp cloth and condition - Blotting with a damp cloth can help the stain start to disappear. Dry any moisture and once the leather is dry apply leather conditioner.
Leather cleaner and damp cloth - If your stain doesn’t disappear with water alone, it’s time to bring in some cleaner designed for leather. The important thing is to spray a cleaning cloth with the cleaner. Don’t apply it directly to the leather.
Apply your cleaner to the dirty parts of your jacket. Next, use a different slightly damp cloth to clean off the remaining cleaner and any moisture. Let your coat air dry away from sun or heat, which can dry out the leather.
Oil and grease stains
Microfiber cloth - For fresh stains, first try the gentlest method. Sometimes a microfiber cloth will lift the oil from the leather and prevent a stain.
Cornstarch or baking soda - Dry powders like cornstarch or baking soda can lift oil stains on leather. First, apply the cornstarch to the stain and let it sit for a few hours or overnight, then dust off the cornstarch or baking soda with a soft brush or vacuum the spot to lift the oil away from the jacket.
More DIY methods
These cleaning methods are DIY at your own risk. Some of them are too harsh for delicate leathers, so they’re not recommended. However, if you don’t want to pay for professional cleaning, it may be worth it to test them on a small patch of the leather first.
Professional leather cleaning: Some stains are best left to professional cleaners. Consider using a professional for glue, ink, makeup, paint, or any stain on unfinished leather.
Store leather properly: Keep your leather goods longer by storing them properly.
Apply leather conditioner: Leather conditioner keeps leather soft and flexible over time. Apply a conditioner with a soft cloth to your leather goods every 6 months. Check the label of your conditioning product to make sure it’s a good fit for your leather type (finished vs unfinished).
Waterproof your leather: If you’re worried about water damage, try waterproofing your leather with a chemical spray designed for your leather type, or this DIY beeswax method.
Pair your thrifted leather jacket with Goodfair’s latest arrivals:
]]>Decades of research has found that frontline communities mostly have low income and/or black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) residents. Environmental justice actions are often community-led, linked to the civil rights movement, or based on indigenous cultural and ancestral ties to the land. We, at Goodfair, consider diversity and inclusion important for solving environmental problems.
Environmental justice is a movement which combines social justice and equitable environmental safety, cleanliness, and wellbeing. It addresses the problem of environmental racism.
In the US, the areas with industrial sites, the most contaminated water, and the worst air quality, are places where low income, black, brown, and indigenous communities of color live. On the other hand, predominantly white, affluent neighborhoods have the most tree cover, the least toxins in the surroundings, and the best water quality. This unequal distribution of environmental benefits and harms is called environmental racism, and it doesn’t happen by coincidence.
City and industrial site planning policies in past and present have segregated communities through redlining and then building industrial sites near redlined or indigenous communities. City and regional planners designed cities to be segregated, and knowingly placed activities causing health risks near the most vulnerable low income communities. The communities disadvantaged by this process are not often included in the planning decision-making process either.
This leads to a wide range of health consequences for the people of these communities:
In addition, the communities facing environmental racism usually do not receive economic benefits or compensation from the industries causing the environmental pollution.
Now, as climate change worsens the risks of extreme weather and storms, the impacts of environmental racism are also intensifying. As climate impacts are becoming more frequent and intense, communities lack resources to cope with
This means the people who have contributed least to climate change face some of its worst impacts. The environmental justice movement began to address these disparities.
Some of the first protests against pollution directly targeting BIPOC communities took place in the 1960s. After that people started to research the systemic ties between racism and environmental harm.
One of the first researchers to examine this problem was Richard Bullard, an African American sociologist from Houston, Texas. According to National Geographic, “He found that 14 of the city’s 17 industrial waste sites—accounting for over 80 percent of the city’s waste tonnage—were situated in Black neighborhoods, though only 25 percent of Houston’s population were Black.” His study was the first to document the systemic link between environmental hazards and race. He received the John Muir award from the Sierra Club in 2013 for his findings.
Today, environmental racism in Houston continues. The Harrisburg/Manchester Neighborhood, with a 98% hispanic population, stands near the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities where oil refineries, chemical plants, sewage treatment facilities, and hazardous waste sites release 484,000 pounds of toxic chemicals each year.
In 1982, the state of North Carolina planned to move PCBs from soils along its roads to a Warren County landfill. Warren County was one of just several counties with a black majority population in the state. PCBs are a man made chemical banned in 1979, are the byproduct of manufacturing “microscope oils, electrical insulators, capacitors, and electric appliances such as television sets or refrigerators” (NOAA).
Protesters organized to block the trucks from entering the landfill. Even though the protesters did not win the battle, the issue received national attention and raised awareness of environmental racism. This protest received widespread attention, but other similar protests had occurred earlier.
When you look at the data, you can find environmental racism in nearly every community in the US. Here are some of the most well-documented examples.
Stop Line 3 - Currently, an indigenous-led movement is underway to stop Enbridge Energy’s Line 3, a project that would transport toxic tar sands across hundreds of fresh water bodies and wetlands at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin. The pipeline would cross treaty territory of the Anishinaabe peoples. Enbridge is a Canadian company responsible for the largest US oil spill.
Protect cancer alley residents - Recently, community organizer Sharon Lavigne led successful protests against Wanhua, a Chinese plastic manufacturer, from opening a facility in her St. James community located within Louisiana’s cancer alley. She received the prestigious 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize for her activism.
Climate justice movement - The Climate Justice Alliance centers frontline BIPOC communities in its activism which advocates for a just transition. Uprose, a BIPOC-led activist organization based in Brooklyn centers its work on community-led campaigns to support frontline communities of the climate crisis.
Biden’s recent Executive Order set a “Justice40” goal, so that “40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities and tracks performance toward that goal through the establishment of an Environmental Justice Scorecard.” Here are details on a $50 million spending package recently passed for environmental justice through the American Rescue Plan.
The Green New Deal proposed by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and drafted by Rhiana Gunn-Wright placed climate justice at the center of a widely publicized proposal to invest in transitioning to a low carbon economy. The proposed plan addressed environmental racism by ensuring low income BIPOC communities would receive economic benefits from newly created jobs and health benefits from clean energy. Though the drafted policy did not pass, it raised awareness around environmental justice.
Read more on this topic: 10 Examples of Environmental Racism and How it Works
Goodfair aims to keep our prices affordable for low-income communities. We also want to minimize the textile waste burden impacting BIPOC communities. Shop Goodfair’s affordable used clothing.
You may think that your donated clothing will end up on the racks of a Goodwill store if you donate to one of their locations. The truth is Goodwill only sells 20% of the things it collects. So what happens to the rest of it?
On one hand, this seems pretty good. Goodwill and St. Vincent DePaul both have some of the highest rates of keeping clothing out of landfills. This doesn’t mean the places they’re diverted to are that great, though.
When weighing these options, it’s important to remember that recycling doesn’t permanently reduce waste. Unless it becomes something that’s used for a long time (like home insulation or carpet padding), it may still end up in a landfill after just one more use.
This is especially true for synthetic fibers like polyester, which are downcycled for materials which there may or may not be a market for. It’s far easier to recycle 100% natural fibers like cotton, linen, silk, or wool into materials of relatively higher value.
Recycling also requires energy, water, and other natural resources, so it’s not quite as eco-friendly as wearing clothes longer.
Exporting bales of clothing to developing countries may also sound like it will help the people in those countries. That’s not always the case. Many East African countries that once received used clothing shipments wanted to ban them in 2015.
The reason, according to Racked, is “they stymie local clothing manufacturing and negatively impact economic growth in low-income countries.” The ban was rescinded in 2019, but the aim to boost the local textile economy is still a long term goal for those countries.
Much of the imported used clothing also gets tossed in developing countries. According to Mashable, “In Ghana, about 40 percent of the bales of donated clothes are thrown out.”
Developing countries don’t always have safe, lined municipal solid waste facilities. Used clothing bales can end up in open dumps and the chemicals and synthetic materials can create leachate that contaminates local water. It can also release methane gas as the materials decay. .
It’s important to keep these things in mind when donating clothes, because it can help you make better choices to begin with. Donating is a better option than throwing clothes away, but it’s still not a great option.
Goodfair promotes wearing used clothes and upcycling them. Upcycling means you create something new and more valuable, due to its creative design, by altering an existing garment. Wearing used clothes obviously extends the life of the garment just the way it is: no added energy, production, or overseas shipping required.
Other great options are to mend or repurpose clothing, host a clothing swap, resell clothing, or recycle clothing. FYI: You can resell upcycled Goodfair pieces on the Goodfair Marketplace. Create your account today!
Chain clothing resellers
Local places
Box pick-ups
Free stuff exchanges
People in need
Coats
Shoes
Prom and Bridal dresses
Interview clothes:
Bras
Baby clothes
Kids clothes
Retail take back programs
Clean clothing in good condition is much more likely to be resold or used by the communities of the place you donate to. If you want to donate worn or torn clothing, it may not stand much of a chance for getting reused by the organization you donate to. Consider cutting these materials up into rags or dropping it off at a recycling center.
Before you donate any Goodfair clothes that didn’t work for you, try reselling them in our Goodfair Marketplace. You can also browse all the goodies there.
This is not normal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released its sixth assessment report, which shows the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events is undoubtedly human-caused. Unprecedented climate impacts worldwide are expected to get more frequent and extreme unless we greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) starting today.
The message of the report is simple. To address climate change, we need to reduce GHGs, which primarily come from burning fossil fuels. This is also one of Goodfair’s core values: a low carbon footprint.
One of the proposed solutions in the U.S. right now is a nationwide Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP), which is sometimes called a clean energy standard. Here’s a brief primer on this important climate policy.
This CEPP policy, which is part of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, is quite simple. It sets targets for utilities to reduce their GHGs each year until 80% of energy transitions to net zero emissions by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2035. If the utilities meet the targets, they get paid. If they don’t, they get fined.
The target for every power company, no matter their current starting point, is to increase clean energy use by 4 percent every year. This could spur meaningful investment in renewables, which are the cheapest alternative to fossil fuels.
This bill has a $150 billion dollar annual price tag, but none of that raises energy bill costs. Instead, it is paid for by taxes. For some perspective, the US spent $725 billion of its tax-based budget on defense in 2020 (11 percent of the budget). Naysayers have called this too expensive, but it’s really a small fraction of the total budget for such a popular policy.
Currently, 30 states and more than 100 cities have adopted clean electricity targets, according to Vox. On the one hand, this shows the broad level of support to transition to clean energy. On the other hand, this patchwork approach to solving climate change is advancing too slowly to reach the US target of net zero GHGs by 2050.
A Morning Consult poll shows that ⅔ of American voters support 100% clean energy. For regional breakdowns, a Third Way poll shows as much as 80% of heavily populated coastal regions support this goal, while districts in central states like Nebraska and Oklahoma with the least support still show roughly 50% of the population in favor.
Even the International Energy Association, a global leader in energy policy, recommends shifting all new energy investments away from fossil fuels.
First, we need to keep in mind that there’s not a lot of time to act on climate change. We need to cut GHGs from burning fossil fuels in half by 2030 and completely reach net-zero by 2050 to avoid catastrophe. We’ve only started to get a taste of this with an annual wildfire season, severe floods in New York subways, and infrastructure breakdowns like what happened in the Texas cold snap in February.
Roughly a third of the GHG footprint in the US comes from electricity production. Coal (20%) and natural gas (40%) power about 60% of the electricity needs. The remaining 40% comes from wind and solar and nuclear, which are about evenly split. Reaching 100% clean energy by 2035 also paves the way to clean up the transportation sector, since electric vehicles will depend on power from the electrical grid.
The policy comes with huge benefits beyond addressing climate change, too. Cleaning up the energy sector will not only lessen climate risks, but create jobs, improve air quality, and save lives--approximately 317,500 lives over the next 30 years, according to Harvard.
At first, the Clean Energy Payment Plan was included in the Infrastructure Bill, but during bipartisan negotiations, it got taken out. Now, Democrats hope to pass it through a simple majority vote as part of budget reconciliation.
Even though it sounds simple enough, it faces significant opposition from the senate, the minority Republican senate could attempt to use the filibuster.
According to NBC, “The arcane rules being used to circumvent a filibuster prohibit changing any part of law that’s not strictly taxes and spending. A federal mandate that power companies use a particular energy source may not meet that definition.”
For this reason, it may not be feasible for Democrats to meet environmental activist group demands for requiring “no gas” in the policy.
The CEPP could also face resistance from West Virginia’s Senator Joe Manchin (D), who has expressed reservations about the policy. As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, he will likely draft large portions of the policy.
Did you know that roughly 70% of fashion’s CO2 emissions come from new clothing production? You can reduce that to zero by buying Goodfair’s used clothing instead.
This summer showed us that the climate crisis is here to stay with fires in the western states, floods in Michigan, and Hurricane Ida leaving 1 million people without power in Louisiana.
Don’t get used to this new normal. Instead, you can do something about it by greening your back to school activities and organizing on campus. Here are our tips on making your back to school journey more eco-friendly.
Eco-friendly school supplies
School can be demanding in terms of the amount of materials you need from textbooks to technology, to a durable backpack to carry everything around. Depending on your major, supplies can get extremely expensive, too. Here are some ways to minimize their impact.
Create a capsule wardrobe with no fast fashion:
A capsule wardrobe is this genius idea for making sure every piece of clothes in your closet can be worn in combination with everything else. It makes choosing outfits in the morning super easy, and it makes it easier to look stylish on a budget.
For an eco-friendly capsule, you’ll want to choose basics like t-shirts, jeans, and jackets from used sources. If you can’t find what you need used, invest in something long-lasting so you’ll be able to wear it for a few years. Avoid fast fashion brands which sell the “made to break” equivalent of clothing.
Walk, bike, ride-share, or take public transportation
Our transportation is a huge source of CO2 emissions. Why contribute to the problem when you have other options. Not only are walking and biking better for you, physically, most campuses are designed to make it easy to go by wheel or foot. If you live in an area with good public transportation, this is way better than driving yourself. If not, share your car with friends and make sure you never drive alone.
Make your lunches meatless and zero waste
Our food habits create so much waste. It’s embarrassing, but there are so many ways to cut back. Here are a few ideas for how to make your eating habits sustainable on campus.
Moving on or off campus? Recycle your boxes
Get to know the campus recycling facilities like the back of your hand. You’re going to need them. Recycling your boxes is a great way to start. It’s possible you can even find someone else who needs to use your boxes. Get more uses out of each box before it has to be recycled.
Set up a sustainable dorm room
Here are some key essentials to a dorm room that not only has style, it’s green.
Organize on campus
Do other students at your school want your university to divest from fossil fuels, resist greenwashing, or switch to all renewable energy? If so, connect with these people and take part. If nothing like this already exists, you can start an eco-friendly initiative of your own. You’ll probably find many other people who want to make a difference.
One last thing! We've partnered with Loop and Thousand Fell for a Back to School Giveaway valued at $450+ that you won't want to miss. Check out the full details to enter on our Instagram. Be sure to enter before 9/4/2021.
]]>What if you could just snack from the wild when you’re hungry? Actually, you can. Healthy, edible plants grow in the wild. You just need to know how to find them. Collecting and eating wild plants is called “foraging.”
For some people, it’s become a popular activity to share on social media:
Alexis Nikole Nelson built a 2.4M viewer Tiktok following by foraging for wild edibles of all kinds. She has become a role model for many as a black woman freely enjoying the outdoors and reflecting on the relationship of historically enslaved people to the land.
Isaias Hernandez aka queerbrownvegan on Tiktok shares how he forages and prepares wild edible plants as a vegan. He educates people about foraging as one part of a broader eco-friendly lifestyle.
Foraging is collecting naturally growing food such as berries, mushrooms, plants, or seaweed from any publicly accessible space. Technically, it can include shellfish or bugs, too. It differs from hunting in that it’s about collecting what’s available, not chasing or pursuing something.
Plenty of edible plants grow without cultivation alongside highways, in open lots, and in forests. These plants are often safe to eat, depending on the cleanliness of the surrounding environment. Foragers learn which parts of plants, insects, and animals are edible and nutritious in their local environment, where they can find them, and how to prepare them to eat.
By actively searching for edible food in uncultivated spaces, people understand the importance of having fewer toxins and pollutants in the environment. This is one way that foraging can be seen as an eco-friendly activity. It also promotes learning about the native plantlife and ecosystem of your region, so it improves your environmental knowledge.
Depending on how often you forage, it can also be a source of affordable, healthy food to add to your diet.
First, it’s important to think about legal access. If you’re on public land or land that you own privately, you’re in the clear. Foraging on private property without permission, however, is illegal.
Next, you’ll probably want to avoid places with known toxins present in the environment. Avoid spaces next to highways or dense urban areas with higher likelihood of acid rain. Check where the local toxic clean-up sites and industrial areas are to avoid their surrounding areas. Spaces next to agricultural fields are safe if they’re organic farms. Otherwise, the soil may be heavily impacted by pesticides and fertilizers.
Nature preserves and National Parks and Forests are all excellent places to go to forage.
Foraging gives you a superpower because you can learn to distinguish poisonous plants from healthy, nutritious ones. Be sure you know the distinguishing features of the plants you’re searching for and how to handle them before foraging them.
Edible mushrooms are notorious for having poisonous near twins in the environment. Some plants have their own safety mechanisms in the form of thistles or stinging spines. Take gloves, pruning shears and a bucket or thick canvas bag for safely collecting your goods.
Once you’ve foraged your plants, be sure to wash and eat only the edible parts. Some plants have edible roots, but poisonous leaves or vice versa. Compost the parts you’re not supposed to eat.
Keep in mind that even though most people can eat an edible plant, you may have an allergy to a new plant. If you’re trying a new food for the first time ever, consider taking the “universal edibility test” to make sure your body doesn’t react negatively to it.
It’s also the foragers code of honor not to take too much from the forest. Just take what you need and leave any smaller growing plants for others.
Wear the right clothes for foraging. You’ll want loose fitting, comfortable clothes which you can get covered in wild plant seeds and dirt. Our Goodfair Take a Hike Bundle gives you a perfect foraging outfit, and our Surprise Baseball Hats will give you sun protection.
Next, take a Goodfair tote bag or backpack to haul your foraged goods.
Finally, gardening gloves and a pocket knife or pruning shears are helpful for pulling up plants from the root or snipping off edible parts of bushes, trees, or fungi.
What it looks like: Wild garlic in North America (allium tricoccum) has smooth, rounded green leaves ending in a point and it grows in clusters as a ground cover in spring.
Where it grows: Eastern United States and Canada
How to eat it: Chop up the leaves and bulb to eat similar to green onions.
Recipe ideas: Add to any dish for flavor, especially pastas and salads.
What it looks like: It has tall, wispy green fronds of pale blue or light yellow growing from the ground, and yellow flowers that grow in a sunburst pattern. It’s actually an invasive species from the Mediterranean, so removing it to eat is an excellent idea.
Where it grows: West coast and Arizona
How to eat it: Only eat the fronds and stems, not the bulb (unlike store-bought fennel).
Recipe ideas: Chop it up and add it to soups, salads, roasted vegetable dishes, or baked biscuits and breads for a licorice-y flavor boost.
What they look like: A yellow to deep orange mushroom with a cap that spans roughly 2 inches in diameter. The caps have an irregular wavy inverted shape like ruffles. Chanterelles grow from the soil, unlike its mildly poisonous (but non lethal) twin which grows from wood: Jack O’ Lanterns. They have a fruity apricot-like smell.
Where they grow: All over the US except for Hawaii in damp, shady areas
How to prepare them: Sautee them in butter or oil.
Recipe ideas: Soups, risotto, omelette.
What they look like: You can forage wild berries of all kinds: blackberries, huckleberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Most of these are familiar, because they look almost the same as their store-bought equivalents.
Where they grow: Berries love the Pacific Northwest
How to prepare them: Pluck, wash, and eat.
Recipe ideas: Syrup, canned preserves, pies.
What they look like: It’s the ubiquitous lawn weed with the yellow flowers.
Where they grow: Where don’t they grow?
How to prepare them: Dandelion greens are very nutritious, but you can also eat the petals and roots of dandelions. It’s actually a very useful plant.
Recipe ideas: Salads, cooked greens, dandelion root tea.
What they look like: Amaranth was originally grown and harvested by Aztecs. Spanish colonizers outlawed it due to its use in sacrificial feasts. There are 60 varieties of amaranth. It’s commonly recognized as a weed with clusters of dark green or purple leaves and a long frond covered with small flowers.
Where they grow: They are an invasive weed in the southern US originally from Central and South America.
How to prepare them: Wash and cook like other greens (spinach, collards, etc.)
Recipe ideas: Steamed, cooked in butter, stewed.
What it looks like: Laetiporus sulphureus is a large off-white to yellow shelf mushroom that grows on oak. It is a wavy fan-shaped mushroom with thick, overlapping brackets. Its diameter grows roughly 4 to 15 inches.
Where it grows: Eastern North America
How to prepare it: Watch this video on how to clean chicken of the woods.
Recipe ideas: Eat as a sautéed or fried main dish to substitute meat.
What it looks like: The plant is considered a weed with a rosette oval shaped leaf curled around a stem and a protruding stalk covered in small flowers. The leaves have noticeable veins and the plant can grow to about 6 inches in height.
Where it grows: Western and eastern United States
How to prepare it: Wash and eat the entire plant raw or cooked.
Recipe ideas: Use in a sauté, soup or stew.
What it looks like: This native plant has been a staple food and material (baskets, mats, insulation, fire starter) for indigenous peoples of North America for centuries. It has a famous cigar-like seed-covered top, which grows on a stalk. The leaves grow upward from the base and they are several feet long and flat.
Where it grows: All over the United States.
How to prepare it: The leaves can be eaten in salads, the stalks can be cooked, and the roots can be ground into flour. The yellow pollen is also nutritious.
Recipe ideas: Salad, sauté, soup, stew, or baked goods using the root flour.
This list is by no means finished. Learn more about common plants you can prepare from chicory to pine needles to nettles by exploring this fantastic guide to wild edible plants. It contains all the information you need from seasonal growing seasons and identification tips.
]]>One of the problems with globalized “fast” fashion is that it’s so dang complicated. A single garment can pass through hundreds of hands before reaching you, the consumer. A zipper can come from Bangladesh, while a seam can be sewn in Turkey. Our pieces of clothing are like a collage assembled in a global marketplace.
The reason? Fast fashion brands scour the earth to find the cheapest source. The race to the bottom is one of the main problems with fast fashion. Tracking down where these sources are located and who did the work is tough. In some cases, your garments even rely on practices like modern day slavery. The materials used to make the products can destroy ecosystems.
But this is all avoidable. “Slow” fashion addresses these problems by hitting pause. Slow fashion makers question the underlying assumptions of each decision that goes into making a garment. You can go through this process to and practice “slow” fashion habits when you shop for clothes.
The reason the adjective “fast” is used to describe the “bad” side of the fashion industry is because the rate of production, design and sales is indeed hyperactive. It’s quicker than ever before, and it feels like the momentum is impossible to slow down.
Fast fashion is “bad” because cheap clothing is made in a wasteful, unfair, and environmentally damaging way. Here are some problems with fast fashion by the numbers:
In other words, clothing production is outsourced to cheap manufacturers overseas that exploit workers.
Efficient use of resources to make clothes is not common.
Garment transportation produces a big carbon footprint and the industry’s manufacturing itself contributes to climate change.
Fast fashion brands sell clothes at a low price point for consumers, but the clothes aren’t worn long and end up in the landfill.
Fast fashion clothing is considered disposable (by both brands and shoppers)
The fast fashion industry creates a lot of textile waste.
The supply chains of fast fashion brands are hard to trace, complex, and constantly changing.
Don’t worry. Fast fashion isn’t the only choice available. Actually, the way we shop can make a huge difference. This is where slow fashion comes in.
Slow fashion is a movement that counteracts the harms of the fast fashion business model. Slow fashion hopes to solve many of the problems associated with fast fashion by critiquing and adjusting how clothing is made. Even if you’re not a clothing producer, you can still keep these principles in mind when you either make or buy clothes from any label or brand.
Here are some ways slow fashion differs from fast fashion:
Few “major” brands are known for their slow fashion model. This is why you’ll usually find smaller fashion brands operating with slow fashion principles.
A clothing supply chain is made up of all of the different suppliers of the parts of a garment. Having a simpler supply chain means there’s just a few steps from the production of the garment’s parts and its assembly to the end user. Manufacturers with a traceable supply chain know how each of those parts are produced and they can actually guarantee there is no unfair labor or environmentally harmful practices used to make the garment’s components.
When corporations say they have fair labor practices, it’s important to check whether this is their own claim, or if it’s backed up by a third-party verifying organization. Without confirmation from an independent source, there’s little guarantee that fair labor is being used. Unfair labor practices in the garment industry are so common, it’s important for routine checks to be made at factories by independent auditors.
Slow fashion is made of fabrics that are better for the environment and help reduce waste. Some examples are recycled fabric, unused fabric from factories (known as dead stock), organic natural fibers, and thrifted fabric remnants or pieces of clothing.
Slow fashion manufacturers pay attention to how much resources they use. They are usually conscious of the ways fresh water can be preserved in manufacturing processes.
Slow fashion is usually made in a small region without long transportation trips between the steps in production.
It’s true that slow fashion is often more expensive than fast fashion. This is because the production process costs more as a result of correcting the exploitative practices of fast fashion companies.
Having long-lasting clothes is a gift because you can have so many more memories associated with a special garment. Having this kind of appreciation for your clothes also makes an impact by reducing landfill waste. Slow fashion clothing makers create items that are unique or highly durable. They’re meant to last a long time.
Since slow fashion produces high quality items, it can easily be resold or used in other fashion upcycling projects.
If you want to practice slow fashion in your own life, here are some ways to start:
Fast fashion:
Slow fashion:
Iris Apfel turned 100 on August 29. She chose to celebrate by releasing a new line of glasses for Zenni Optical. She’s also partnered with Lowe’s and Etsy this year and it’s not likely she’ll ever retire. Creativity is her lifeblood, which is probably why she calls herself the “oldest looking teenager.”
Iris Apfel is Jewish and grew up in Queens as the only child of her parents, who were shop owners. Her mother ran a clothing boutique, handing down an astute sense of fashion. After earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin, Apfel started her career as a fashion writer, but quickly pivoted towards interior design.
She ran an interior design company, Old World Weavers, for over forty years starting in 1951 with her husband. She also restored historic American buildings, including parts of the White House. Obsessed with travel, work, and creative projects she didn’t find time to have kids.
In 2008, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art held an exhibition featuring items from her vast clothing collection. This established her place in the fashion world, though she didn’t enter as a clothing designer, but rather for her skills as a stylist and collector.
With 1.7million followers on Instagram, she has built a giant platform around the idea that fashion should be fun. To celebrate her birthday, we’re paying tribute to her style, which we adore--especially for her taste in vintage clothing.
She’s the embodiment of radical self-acceptance, because she’s not trying to fit into any boxes. With Iris Apfel it’s all about taking one idea, whether it’s a color combination or material, and then splurging with accessories until you have a wildly over-the-top look. This is how she became known as a “maximalist.”
This approach to fashion is joyously enthusiastic about all of the elements of design: shape, line, color, and fabric. It’s not about appearing appropriate for a certain situation. It’s about upending people’s expectations for what you’re going to wear.
Ok, this one’s pretty obvious, but the woman gained international stardom at age 84 thanks to her Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit. Yet, she was already cultivating her own style and charisma since day one. As they say, “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” It’s great to see a visible fashion icon who grows more relevant each year she ages.
One of the most endearing things about Iris Apfel from a Goodfarian thrifting perspective is that she’s always on the hunt for a good second-hand find. Yet, judging by her excessive style, you may think she spends most of her time buying high-end designer goods. In fact, she’s just as likely to mix and match her designer finds with cheap, used items she’s picked up. One of the most important elements of her look is this pairing between the “high” and “low” to make startling contrasts and juxtapositions.
Bold, colorful, and chunky, Apfel’s glasses give her that instantly recognizable, iconic look. You won’t find her donning dainty, elegant glasses though. The ones she opts for usually look slightly too big for the size of her head. After all, glasses can have the effect of making people look important. They can also frame your face when you don’t want to go out with too much make-up on.
Another quite obvious, yet magnetic aspect of Apfel’s style is the fact that she loves to pile on bangles up to her elbows. This gives her a chance to play around with theme and variation. She can take a single material and find bangles in different sizes and shapes that repeat the idea over and over in different ways. Not to mention, they’re great conversation starters.
As a woman who is turning 100 years old, Iris Apfel has lived long enough to have walked the streets when jeans were considered workwear for men only. Of course, that didn’t stop her from adding them into her closet. For Apfel, fashion isn’t so much about following trends, it’s about experimenting and taking pieces out of their typical context.
Thanks to her career as an interior designer, Iris Apfel traveled to discover materials, artifacts, and designs. Along the way, she’d buy things and add them to her collection. This included everything from couture clothing and costume jewelry to accessories from bazaars.
Even though collecting takes up loads of space, it’s one way not to throw things away. As a collector, Iris Apfel’s items actually gained value over time, earning her a place in art history. It’s ok to have a lot of stuff as long as you value each object individually for its story and you keep it for a long time.
After looking through dozens of Apfelian outfits, you can start to see a theme: she’s very good at framing her face. The abundance of dramatic beads, feathers or collars she wears all help to keep your eye centered on her face. From there, your eyes naturally fixate on her large glasses. The rest is all blends and varieties of materials, color themes, and bobbly beads. It’s this ability to keep a focal point amidst the chaos that really highlights her skill as a stylist.
There are no colors in the rainbow that Apfel has not explored. For her, the bolder, the better. That said, she usually fixates on one to three main colors per outfit. This keeps some cohesion to her overall look, and it allows her to explore very unique materials: feathers, turquoise, wood engraved with mother of pearl, etc. without completely losing a sense of intentionality in her look.
Iris Apfel is living proof that beauty is ageless and creativity never dies.
We love the spirit of playfulness, thrift, and adventure captured in her outfits. Experiment with your own looks by choosing one of our surprise bundles.
They have a low enough price point so you can shop with zero regrets. This makes it easy to pick up something you wouldn’t otherwise wear. Be like Iris Apfel: think outside the box.
Greenwashing is when companies make false or misleading marketing or PR claims about the environmental impact of their products, business practices or other initiatives.
Why would companies lie to their customers? One of the reasons is there’s simply more demand for sustainable products. Sixty-two percent of Generation Z shoppers prefer to buy from sustainable brands.
Companies try to paint the picture that they’re satisfying this demand. They make claims that suggest they are doing their part. But without clearly defined goals, benchmarks, and measurements of impact, these claims are essentially meaningless.
Why is greenwashing a problem?
Greenwashing is a problem because it sometimes works. As a consumer, you feel you’re making a better choice by buying soda from a “recycled plastic” bottle or “carbon neutral” gas to fill up your car. In the end, these products can have the same or worse impact as their conventional counterparts.
With problems like plastic waste and climate change looming, we need real transparency from companies. It’s important to ensure that our consumer choices aren’t just an expression of wishful thinking.
Is greenwashing illegal?
According to consumer protection laws from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), it’s illegal for companies to mislead consumers about the impacts a product or company has made. This is legally classified as fraud and deception.
It’s the same for all industries, but the FTC has created specific guidelines for environmental claims, because it’s an area where fraudulent claims are commonly used in marketing.
What is greenwashing in marketing?
The FTC’s Green Guides provides a set of guidelines about environmental impact claims to help brands avoid mischaracterizing their environmental impact. It provides the following “general advice”:
How to make specific environmental claims
The best environmental claims are specific, measurable, and certified by an independent, third-party organization that can validate a company’s metrics. This goes for the use of organic farming methods, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, water use reductions, and carbon offsets.
Why relevant environmental claims matter
The Green Guides also emphasizes the importance of choosing relevant details to highlight. This brings up the issue of whether companies should highlight their environmental philanthropy, when their core product or service has a detrimental impact on the environment.
Various companies have used philanthropy and bulk sums of donation amounts to show their support for environmental causes. But reporters have helped to qualify these impressive sounding claims by giving them context.
Environmental language clarity
The FTC provides specific advice on a list of terms and strategies that are often misused or mischaracterized in marketing:
Many environmental groups have accused fossil fuel companies of greenwashing in their advertising. The problem is their ads exaggerate the importance of their environmental expenditures. They also rely on unverified carbon dioxide reduction approaches like carbon offsetting and carbon capture technologies as their primary climate “solutions.”
Recently, three large environmental organizations--Global Witness, Greenpeace, and Earthworks--filed a lawsuit with the FTC over Chevron’s use of greenwashing in its ads. They claim that, “despite Chevron’s ads touting its investment in renewable energy, the company spent just 0.2% of its annual capital expenditure budget – roughly $26 million a year - on lower-carbon energy sources.” How the FTC will address this claim is yet to be seen.
Chevron isn’t the only fossil fuel company getting scrutiny for its ads, though. The organization Clientearth.org started creating files on a longer list of fossil fuel companies to spotlight their environmental claims.
Clientearth cites Exxon Mobil’s natural gas advertising as misleading because they claim it supports renewable energy. Not only is this false, because natural gas often competes with renewable energy sources, the recent IPCC Assessment report warned about the dangers of methane leaks caused by natural gas production for global warming.
Methane heats the atmosphere roughly 84 times more potent than CO2 in the first 20 years after it’s emitted, so natural gas production shouldn’t be touted as “part of the solution” to climate change.
Is Greenwashing part of CSR?
The world’s largest companies report their Environmental, Social, and Governance metrics in their annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. These reports are used by investors and governments to understand our overall progress towards the Paris Agreement goals, and to make investing decisions. Specific verified facts and statistics can also then be repurposed in corporate marketing materials.
The problem is that with the current CSR reporting standards, companies aren’t required to report in a specific format, and the information they disclose is voluntary. Therefore, there are huge discrepancies about the quality and depth of the information available in these reports.
A new AI tool called ClimateBert was launched to examine the level of greenwashing within CSR reports of the world's top 800 companies. It found that the reports lacked the crucial element of relevance called for by the FTC’s Green Guides. The analysis suggests that companies often cherry-pick their data to look good on paper without real improvements to the core business when it comes to climate change related disclosures.
How to spot greenwashing and call it out
It can be very difficult to sort out the fiction from the facts. Here are some common ways brands try to appear more green than they really are. You can check companies’ CSR reports, ads, or product labels for these different forms of greenwashing.
Distracting activities
If a business mainly earns its income from environmentally polluting activities, any additional action it takes to offset its carbon emissions, donate to environmental organizations, or develop secondary clean fuels or energies does make up for the harm done by the primary activity.
For example, Amazon’s $10 billion Earth Fund awards $1 billion per year to organizations minimizing the impact of climate change. However, this is only a tiny fraction of Bezos’ net worth: $191 billion, and Amazon’s own carbon dioxide emissions grew 15% in 2019.
Vague language
Words “clean,” “pure,” “natural,” and “sustainable” are all hard to prove or quantify. Compare these to a phrase like “USDA certified organic,” which has a very specific definition. Look for exact claims with third-party verifications.
Aspirational commitments
Many companies these days are making net-zero commitments for the future, but these are often 30 years away. Such a large time span gives no indication that a company really intends to make necessary changes in its short-term planning. Look for the actions that brands are taking today.
Slippery slope claims
Companies can get carried away with the significance of their impacts. Watch out for a company using broader global claims to sell its own specific product.
Images of pristine nature
Companies producing agricultural products like butter often depict happy cows in green pastures on their labels, when the reality of factory farming looks much different.
Lack of proof
Sometimes brands knowingly make false marketing claims in hopes that no one will catch them. The way to uncover the lies is by seeking proof for these claims. If something sounds too general, or too good to be true, try to investigate or reach out to the brand with your questions.
Best-in-class
When you think of fast fashion brands making an environmental impact, H&M might come to mind. It highlights its eco-friendly lines, whereas other fast fashion brands are doing nothing.
But when you consider the scale of H&M’s smaller eco-friendly Conscious collection compared to its overall production, the impact is quite small and the fast fashion industry still needs to be transformed.
Case in point
Beyond this, H&M has recently collaborated with Billie Eilish to produce a “sustainably produced” line, without providing clear details on its claim.
In fact, only 2 of the 16 pieces in the line are made of organic cotton. Yet, no details on the organic cotton certification or source are included on the brand’s website. This also means 87.5% of the pieces are synthetics like polyester, which we don’t consider sustainable.
In this case, it seems the company wanted to appeal to a younger audience, by pairing a pop music fashion icon with vague and misleading terms, in other words: greenwashing. Hopefully, brands will start to realize younger people do their research and aren’t that easily duped.
When you see greenwashing in advertising or CSR reports, you should tell the company or brand using social media. Comment on their ad or tag them in a post you write. Drawing more attention to this issue is super important. It’s a way of demanding transparency from brands regarding their serious contributions to our environmental crises.
Read more on greenwashing here: ClientEarth.org explains how greenwashing makes it even more likely to pass climate tipping points that put us on the path to irreversible environmental challenges.
Changing the type of sleeve on a shirt can also take it from being a very basic fit to a statement piece. Sleeves have the power to draw the eye’s attention upward towards your captivating face, or downward towards your expressive arms or hands, depending on their shape.
Can you recognize the sleeves you see on a shirt, part by part? If not, you can increase your fashion fluency with this helpful guide. Here are the names and descriptions of different types of sleeves.
The first place to look at the shape of the sleeve is the armhole seam. Some sleeves have a “set-in” sleeve, which is a seam around the shoulder. This is super common and it can be found on t-shirts to button-up shirts. Other sleeves are stylized a little bit differently, either with a unique shape of shoulder seam or no seam at all. Here are a few examples:
You can easily use this list of sleeves in upcycling projects. You simply need to remove the existing sleeve on a shirt with a set-in sleeve with your trusty seam ripper. After that, you can draft your new sleeve and stitch it into the existing armhole (see below for more details). This makes adjusting the style of a shirt super easy.
Most of these types of sleeves can be different lengths (capped, short, three-quarter length, long, or cuffed).
Cap sleeve: A short, decorative sleeve covering the top of the shoulder, but not covering any other part of the arm. This sleeve is only set in at the top of the arm hole.
Petal sleeve: A capped, split sleeve with two pieces of fabric that form an elegant, overlapping shape that looks like flower petals.
Butterfly sleeve: A short flared sleeve.
Puffed sleeve: A sleeve that has extra room to create a billowed look either at the top, bottom or both the top and bottom of the sleeve.
Cold-shoulder sleeve: A standard sleeve with a cut-out “window” over the shoulders.
Bell sleeve: A long sleeve that flares out from the shoulder, with a large open wrist.
Bishop sleeve: A long sleeve that flares out from the shoulder like a bell sleeve, but the fabric at the wrist is gathered.
Balloon sleeve: A long puff sleeve gathered at the shoulder and the wrist.
Leg of mutton sleeve: A long sleeve which is fitted on the forearm, but puffed at the shoulder. Its shape resembles the leg of a sheep.
Juliette sleeve: A long sleeve that is straight and fitted except fora rounded puff shape around the shoulder.
Draft your sleeve
The first thing to do is to draft your sleeve. This can be done by drawing around the armhole seam of an existing shirt sleeve. If you’ve removed a sleeve from your shirt, you can use that as a basis.
Otherwise, you can start with a sleeve “sloper” which is a standard size for your fit. You can adjust the armhole to match your sloper shape.
When you draft your initial sleeve pattern, you’ll notice that the front and back curves are slightly different. It’s important to keep track of which side is the front and back of the sleeve.
To draft a new type of sleeve, you can consult a variety of resources:
You can also experiment with your own sleeve shape pattern through trial and error.
Leave a ½” seam allowance around the entire perimeter of your sleeve.
To start answering the question “What is fast fashion?”, it helps to start by defining what fast fashion isn’t. It isn’t eco-friendly, fair to workers, or supportive of high-quality fashion. The clothing it produces isn’t known for durability, and its prices aren’t ever very high.
Fast fashion tries to fulfill our desire to refill our closets with the latest trends without putting a dent in our wallets. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In fact, the fashion industry causes a lot of harm by creating the illusion of meeting these magical expectations and making serious profit from it. Here’s how.
“Fast fashion” is a process of producing clothing and accessories commonly associated with:
If you think it’s hard to separate fast fashion from sustainable fashion, it’s because fast fashion is the most dominant form of clothing production today. This makes it hard to recognize the alternatives. Despite its association with high volume production at low cost, even high-end fashion brands with high price points are guilty of many of the unsustainable practices associated with fast fashion.
The main reason fast fashion is bad is because it encourages a throwaway culture that disregards the lives of the workers who make garments, and the environmental toll on the planet.
Here are some ways fast fashion is bad for the environment:
Here are some negative ways fast fashion affects society:
Fast fashion is mostly produced in developing countries like Bangladesh, China, and Vietnam. Roughly 20 million people in Bangladesh work in the garment industry.
If you look at a single piece of clothing, though, it can be made by a total of 100 different workers in locations around the world. The supply chains of fast fashion industry giants are incredibly complex and they change rapidly, based on trends, production costs, and availability. This makes it hard to trace the labor and environmental standards of different items of clothing.
Fast fashion is practically synonymous with H&M and Zara.
Other fast fashion brands include:
Forever 21
Primark
SHEIN
Cider
and others.
How can you tell if a brand uses fast fashion? Fast fashion brands are usually recognizable for their giant retail stores, and trendy styles often targeting the 16-25 age demographic.
In the past, fashion trends were predicted as much as a year in advance, and the steps to adopt fashion were spaced out like stepping stones: designer fashion would influence mainstream designs, market research would inform their design decisions, and clothing lines were produced at most seasonally (four times a year).
But in the nineties, globalization and agile marketing took hold. Most large clothing manufacturers outsourced their production to developing countries, which made competing on price easier than ever. Fashion companies also started to compete on availability, satisfying customer’s demands for dressing in cutting-edge fashion without waiting for an entire season. The internet and social media have greatly sped up the ability to research and design trends based on consumer desires almost instantly. Soon, the pace of fashion sped up from 4 lines a year to up to 50 lines a year.
Fast fashion companies use incredibly complex supply chain networks, and they can easily switch factories at the drop of a hat. They’re known for skirting labor issues, thanks to their hard to trace supply chains. With factories around the world producing a single garment, fast fashion brands don’t always work directly with their real suppliers. To address this issue, Fashion Revolution, an organization established to improve the ethics of fashion, created a Fashion Transparency Index. This index lists Forever 21 in the lowest 10% of businesses analyzed for transparency.
Fast fashion companies are known for keeping their inventories in large warehouse spaces, but that could change as online shopping becomes more prevalent. Even though they keep lots of stock on hand at their retail spaces, fast fashion companies create the illusion of scarcity by featuring selective styles and limiting the quantity of items on the floor. This gives shoppers a sense of urgency to buy.
The fast trend cycle encourages shoppers to buy and stay up to date with the latest trends. This leads to what many critics of fast fashion consider a throwaway culture, because compared to 15 years ago, we buy 60% more clothes, and keep the items for half as long.
It’s hard to measure the exact percentage of the fashion brands that constitute fast fashion, because most brands have fast fashion characteristics.
While truly “fast fashion” means having fast trend seasons and short production cycles, the phrase is often associated with “unsustainable fashion”. Most mainstream fashion production relies on environmentally destructive manufacturing and outsourced labor in global supply chains.
Let’s compare the market size of ethical fashion ($6.3 billion in 2019) to the global retail fashion market ($1.78 trillion in 2019). Keep in mind that there’s not currently a clear set of standards about sustainable fashion, so this is just to give an estimate. Using this estimate, only 0.3% of fashion is considered “ethical.” If we subtract that from the total fashion retail market, 99.7% of fashion retail is not ethical.
There are many ways to change our personal habits to counteract the negative impacts of fast fashion. In general, it helps to consider the reasons the fashion industry is wasteful and harmful to people:
Here are some popular approaches that counteract each of these negative effects of fast fashion in some way:
Locally made fashion: By shopping for clothing “made in the USA,” or even closer to home, you’re supporting the local economy. You can research the brands more easily to see who they employ, and how they treat their workers. You’ll also be reducing the carbon footprint for the materials, which are usually shipped overseas.
Thrifted or used fashion: With thrifted fashion, unlike fast fashion, your clothing is not made from raw materials, so it doesn’t have the negative environmental impacts from production, and you also keep clothing out of the waste. It’s now easier than ever to resell your own used fashion online, too, so you can recoup some of the money you spent on items.
“French” (curated) style: There’s this notion about the effortless style of French women, which may be an urban legend. Essentially the concept goes like this: you buy classic, high-quality essentials from French designers that you’ll wear the rest of your life. Think trench and handbag. You accessorize basic looks like jeans and a t-shirt with sunglasses, high heels, and some red lipstick to make it fancy. Lastly, you rely on your personality to captivate people.
Minimal fashion: In a sense this is similar to a curated style, where you have your go-to colors, and you simplify your style so you don’t need to change it up often. You can literally wear the same black jeans for twenty years.
Repeat outfits: Instagram and other social media outlets inspire people to constantly reinvent their looks. You can go against the grain by embracing the idea of wearing repeat outfits intentionally. Try to wear the same outfit multiple days in a row. This helps you keep things longer.
Tracking wears: Another way to avoid throwing clothing away is by wearing an item thirty or one-hundred times before letting it go. To make sure you reach your goal, keep a tracking sheet or post your progress online.
Sustainably sourced fashion: There are a lot of brands that are trying to rethink fashion from the inside. You can buy new clothing from these brands, but it’s best to research them on Good on You and other brand rating sites.
#Memade #diy fashion: Get a sewing machine, source some thrifted remnants (old curtains, table cloths, and bedsheets are perfect for this), and sew your own wardrobe. The benefit of doing this is it shows how much time and effort go into making garments.
Upcycled fashion: This is a hybrid between thrift and making your own fashion. Basically, it means updating your existing pieces by making adjustments to them. These adjustments can make an item appear more trendy.
Recycled fashion: Recycled fashion uses materials that have been reclaimed from the trash.
Rented fashion: As an alternative to fast fashion throwaway culture, for one-time wears, just rent, so the item continues to be used after you're done with it.
Digital fashion: Some creators are now promoting clothing that you “wear” in your online selfies, but actually it’s just a digital illusion.
As you can see, there are actually lots of alternatives to fast fashion. That’s the big secret the fashion industry is afraid you’ll realize.
One of the best ways to combat fast fashion in your own life is by simply starting to notice the ways fast fashion influences you. Notice when you are influenced to buy new things. Notice how hard it can be to repeat outfits. Notice how you feel about your clothes--do you really care about them?
If you care about your clothes, you’re on the right track. Here are a few more ways you can take care of them longer. This bond with your clothes will help you break free from our culture of disposable materialism.
To get a head start on combating fast fashion’s effects, shop our thrifted bundles of used and vintage clothing to reduce demand for new clothes and keep totally wearable clothes out of the landfill.
]]>Handmade shirts are statement pieces and conversation starters. They’re versatile, too, because you can wear them with skirts, jeans, shorts, etc.
The creative possibilities for making different types of shirts are endless. You can transform the blah shirts you already have in your closet into something you’ll actually wear.
Another way to make the most of DIY projects is to sell them online. You can now sell anything you make from our Goodfair merchandise on the Goodfair Marketplace.
@shannayeh making a lil backless top from a @goodfair t-shirt ##thriftflip ##yesdaychallenge ##goodfair ##cartiktok ##goodfairpartner
♬ SugarCrash! - ElyOtto
A halter top is a backless shirt that stays up thanks to straps that either tie or loop around your neck. This type of shirt is easy to make because it doesn’t require a lot of fabric. You can also make the straps from other materials like ribbon, a scarf, or rope that you have lying around the house.
To make a halter top, you’ll cut out the front and back piece of your fabric to the width you’d like it to be plus a half-inch seam allowance on each side. The back piece will be the same height as the side under the armpit. The front piece will have a couple more inches of fabric at the top to cover your chest.
This upper part in front will be a few inches narrower than the sides and it will have a diagonal seam on each side coming from the sides that fall under the armpits.
Depending on your halter top you can either stitch the strap along the sides of the front panel, which works better for a low cut, or just along the top of the halter, which works better for a higher neckline.
The key to creating a tube-top is elastic thread. You can use it in your sewing machine, just like regular thread. When you stitch parallel horizontal lines with elastic thread, your fabric will cinch in and create that lovely stretchy, form-fitting shape, which you can slide over your body.
This sewing technique is called “shirring” or “smocking.” It’s great for creating the bodices of tube-tops, or corset-like shirts with statement sleeves.
@shannayeh tell someone u love them❤️ (diy painted hoodie from @goodfair ) ##thriftflip ##goodfair ##TiktokFashionMonth ##GoodfairPartner ##diy
♬ Hiiipower x DIAND - Michael
If you have plain t-shirts at home, this is a great way to update them with a custom design with iron-on adhesive cut-out or printed paper.
You can either cut out letters or shapes, or print an image from your computer to transform a boring plain shirt into something custom that shows your personality more.
Creating a handmade patchwork shirt is a fun project for old scraps from used flannels, graphic tees, or other garments you don’t want to wear anymore. It’s basically creating a quilt panel out of random shapes of fabric and then creating a t-shirt or tank-top from this fabric. Create your shirt pattern by copying the shape of a shirt you already have in your closet and adding seam allowances.
It’s important to use fabric pieces that are all a similar type of fabric, so they retain the right shape over time. Otherwise the different pieces might stretch or shrink at different rates, and the piece won’t hang well.
Polo shirts have those cute knit collars with a couple of buttons coming down from the collar. They’re usually made out of thicker woven knits that are super durable.
Add an elastic waistband to the bottom of your shirt, to create a cute, puffy crop top that you can wear with your high-waisted skirts or shorts this summer.
Now, your polo shirt should have a cinched, cropped edge that fits tight around your waist. Once you master the elastic band method, you can use it on a variety of tops!
@goodfair elastic cropped sweatshirt tutorial by @shannayeh using a preloved granny sweatshirt ##diy ##thriftflip ##minitutorials ##nonewthings
♬ Skate - Trees and Lucy
Cut off the sleeves of your shirt, if you need more shirts for the hot weather. You can turn almost any shirt into a cute tank top. Use one of your favorite tank tops as a guide for the pattern and just trace around it when it is folded in half plus about a half inch seam allowance.
The easiest way to finish a shirt sleeve is with a rolled hem. Simply fold the edge about a quarter inch two times. Do this as you stitch along the edge until you have a neat rolled edge to your sleeve. You can use the same technique on necklines as well. But don't stop with just cutting the sleeves—add in some additional DIY techniques for a truly unique piece!
@goodfair Thrift flipping 🔄 wait until the end 😍 ##CleanTok ##thriftflip ##thrifttok ##goodfair ##nonewthings
♬ original sound - emy🦋
Tropical patterned shirts are usually loose and flowy with a great pattern and a button-up design. Because they come with so many great details to begin with, they’re perfect for DIY projects. You can turn one into an off-the-shoulder shirt or even a no-sew dress. If you want to make your own, here’s a great pattern.
These aren’t the only types of shirts though!!
There are literally endless options for making shirts, but we have to stop somewhere. It’s great to learn how to sew different types of shirts so you become comfortable making custom clothes. It’s a skill that will help you not only save money on your wardrobe, but it will help you understand how clothes are constructed so you can repair, build, and refashion your entire wardrobe.
Can you think of more types of shirts to make? Let us know your favorite designs to create from used clothing. And if you want to learn how to create even more upcycled wardrobe staples, check out our post 7 Ways to Upcycle Your Clothes.
Here are some of the most coveted types of jeans that collectors search for. We wish you luck on your journey to find a pair of classic vintage jeans.
Levi’s jeans have a long history linked to the Gold Rush in the 19th Century in California. Levi Strauss designed the work pants made of heavy canvas and reinforced with rivets. He patented the design in 1873, and jeans were born.
As one of the first companies to ever produce jeans, vintage Levi’s are an important part of fashion history. They’re also an in-demand item to find at thrift stores and in the reselling market. Levi’s 501s are the most sought-after design, because the shape looks great on almost everyone.
How to identify:
These tips are directly from Levi’s official site:
Other suggestions include:
Wrangler jeans were first created in 1947 and they became popular as western-style straight-legged jeans. They’re very durable and great for riding a horse or a bucking bronco in a rodeo.
How to identify:
As another one of America’s oldest jeans manufacturers, Lee jeans were launched in Kansas in 1889. Vintage Lee Jeans exhibit important branding decisions the company made to distinguish itself from the competition.
How to identify:
If you’re in the market for the shape more than the brand label, look for classic mom jeans, high-waisted jeans, bell-bottom jeans, and boyfriend jeans at the thrift store.
In the 1990s, hip hop artists from TLC to Snoop Dogg endorsed Tommy Hilfiger brand clothing, which was known for its preppy style. Soon, the label started to produce a sportier offshoot and it grew in popularity: Tommy Jeans.
How to identify:
Guess is the jeans brand most commonly associated with the 1980s. The L.A. based jeans label was one of the first companies to make designer jeans. They were tight fitting and often had zippers at the ankles. Now, as part of its interest in promoting a circular economy, you can buy authenticated vintage products directly from Guess.
How to identify:
While you might keep these museum pieces enclosed in glass, you can wear our Goodfair denim pieces all day everyday. Shop our denim bomber jacket, unisex best friends jeans bundle, denim shirts bundle, and denim overalls bundle.
Bokashi composting is a traditional farming technique practiced in Korea and Japan. It’s an anaerobic (oxygen-free) process which makes it unique compared to an outdoor compost pile or a worm pile, which both require oxygen.
Bokashi is a Japanese word meaning “blur” or “gradient” and it’s used to describe the fermenting process of breaking down organic matter with essential micronutrients. Japanese scientist Dr. Teruo Hiya discovered essential micronutrients in the 1980s. His research confirmed the microscopic benefits of this traditional composting method.
Here are the main reasons bokashi is becoming so popular:
You can find bokashi buckets for sale online. They consist of an air-tight vacuum sealed lid, and a drainage tray at the bottom, and a valve with a nozzle to drain the excess liquid that forms as your food waste is composting.
It usually helps to buy two buckets so you can ferment one as you fill up another.
Bokashi bran is a dry mix of the fermenting active nutrients which break down your food waste. You’ll want to have lots of bran on hand to make sure you can sprinkle lots of bran layers into your bucket as you fill it up.
Since bokashi composting is an oxygen-free process, it’s best to compress your food waste as much as possible in your container. This helps the fermentation process go faster.
You can use a plate and a heavy brick, a meat pounder, or anything else you can think of.
In bokashi composting, the fermentation stage is just the first step. To fully break down your food scraps, you’ll need some dirt. This could be a large container of dirt, or a patch of garden, but without a spot to dig and bury your compost in the ground, your bokashi composting experiment won’t work. On the other hand, if you don’t have dirt and you just throw away your fermented food scraps, you’re still helping them break down in the landfill, too!
Here’s how to compost the bokashi way:
The smell of bokashi is an important way to tell if you’re doing it right. When you have the right balance of bokashi bran to food scraps, the smell should be a sweet, pickled smell that doesn’t offend your senses.
You shouldn’t have to plug your nose with bokashi composting, which is another reason it’s great for apartments. If the fermented food scraps start to smell foul or putrid, try adding more bran to the mix.
If that doesn’t work, you should check to make sure your bucket doesn’t have any leaks, you’re using the right ratio of bran to food scraps, and you’ve fully sealed your bucket.
We hope you’re as excited about bokashi composting as we are. Composting is a great way to reduce food waste as part of an eco-friendly lifestyle. In countries like the U.S. we throw out 35 percent of our edible food. That’s way too much, so we should be turning it into something useful like nutrient-rich soil.
]]>Vintage clothes have been popular for decades, especially with the fast turnover of trends in the late 20th century. It may seem that selling vintage clothes online should be easier than ever thanks to the many different reselling platforms: our own Goodfair Marketplace, Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Depop, Poshmark, ThredUp, Etsy, etc.
The problem with selling vintage clothing online is not so much the lack of resources as much as resource overload and competition. In this vintage clothing reselling guide, we spell out some practical tips to DIY your own vintage selling side hustle. If this is something you’re passionate about like we are, we hope your hustle will scale up.
Technically, vintage clothing is classified as anything made twenty years ago (from the current time period). At the time of publishing this article, this means the turn of the century time-period (early 2000s) are just now entering the vintage domain. For even older things, an item turns into an antique after 100 years have passed since it was made.
Determining what is vintage clothing seems straightforward, but it can actually be tricky to authenticate the time period when an item was created. Many new products are made to look vintage, even though they’re created today. Some vintage clothing becomes so collectible, it inspires “bootlegs” which are fake reissues of famous vintage t-shirt or sneaker designs. Since items of clothing usually don’t come with a date of creation on their labels, you have to use external clues to guess the time period an item was made.
Clothing tags hold a lot of important information, even if they don’t come with a date. For major brands, you can check what version of their logo was used on the tag for a clue. Another way to tell if something is truly vintage is the site of manufacturing. Most US manufacturing was outsourced to developing countries by the nineties, so an older looking “Made in the USA” clothing tag can give you a clue as well.
Hunting for unique vintage clothing is more popular than ever. That doesn’t necessarily make it scarce, though. A lot of the availability of vintage clothing depends on your location, the timing, and your willingness to dedicate time to searching for the kind of goods you want to sell. Here are some of the best places to look.
Chain resellers of clothing donations: Clothing donation sites offer a lower price point of clothing sales in large retail outlets. You may find authentic vintage clothing to sell at places like Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, Savers, or Value Village.
Local thrift retailers: Apart from the large chain, there are plenty of independent thrift stores serving their local communities. To find thrift stores in your area that may carry vintage clothes you can sell, http://www.thethriftshopper.com/ is a great directory.
Online reselling sites: If you know the exact type of vintage clothing items you’d like to sell by category, size, color, etc. then you can easily search the internet to find your goods. Check Goodfair Marketplace, Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, ThredUp, Poshmark, Depop, Vestiaire Collective, the Real Real and more. Each has a different niche in the vintage clothing reselling universe.
Consignment and specialty thrift stores: These stores tend to sell their goods at some of the highest reselling price points, so they’re not always the best for stocking up. That said, if you’re looking for brand-name collectibles, check these stores.
Flea markets: Many communities host public flea markets where sellers bring their goods to show and sell in cheap vendor booths. The nice thing about flea markets is they tend to attract people from a wide radius. They also tend to have a mix of more serious collectors and hoarders, so you can find a range of different items.
Estate sales: People often sell the items of their deceased relatives. Sometimes these sales are packed full of heirloom items that you can’t find anywhere else. To find an estate sale to scout for vintage clothing to sell, you can find announcements for estate sales on sites like EstateSales.net, EstateSales.org, and EstateSale.com, Craigslist, or other local news sites in your area.
Garage sales: Now that we don’t have to socially distance quite so much, we might see a return of garage sales. While these sales aren’t always the best for the really old vintage things, you can sometimes find interesting items when people downsize their stuff. You can find them by driving around your neighborhood and looking for signs, or checking in your favorite local listing source.
Auctions: Auction houses also sell vintage clothing that goes for really cheap. Make a day of it and check out the auctions in your area using https://www.auctionzip.com/.
Rag houses: These are the end point for shirts before they get baled up and shipped overseas. They’re usually found in port cities, distribution hubs, or sites of clothing manufacturing. They didn’t used to be open to the public, but now you can sometimes browse their massive piles of t-shirts for rare vintage tee shirt finds. Finding them can be tricky, but you can search online to see if your area has clothing imports and exports and once you find a rag house, mill, or grader, call them to see if they allow pickers.
Obviously, your aim is to make money when you resell vintage clothes, so the first rule of pricing is to sell an item for more than you bought it for. To do this, you need to show people the value it holds, whether this from its design, cut, material, scarcity, or the demand for your item.
When people search for vintage clothing, they’re often looking for those beautiful, rare, collectible items that can resell for a much higher value.
At Goodfair, we’ve taken a different approach by selling surprise bundles. If we all became collectors, there would still be a huge textile waste problem, because people would still discard the useful, but more common vintage clothes.
We encourage you to think outside the box and experiment with different ways of selling vintage clothes and setting price points to help our waste problem. A little marketing genius can go a long way to help generate interest in clothes that may not be collectible, but still have a much longer useful lifespan.
Here are some tips to help you choose a price point:
Research what other people have sold the item for. It’s important to go online and use your search browsers to check pricing on items. Sometimes items are more valuable than you’d expect. The best place to do this is on Ebay, where you can see what sold items went for.
Try to determine if it’s a rare item, and if so, tell its story. If it was made in an unfamiliar country, if it has a unique wash or cut, or if it’s a handmade item, try to use those details to emphasize its uniqueness. For example, I recently bought a used jeans jacket with a unique cut and color. It was clearly vintage and it came from Ukraine. When I researched vintage jeans in Ukraine, I found out that Western jeans weren’t even legal in Ukraine during the nineties under Soviet Union rule, so it is a rare item. When you write your item’s description, tell the unique story of your item.
Add perceived value: Adding value requires a bit of artistry. Some of the ways people do this are simply by developing a smart curation sense and presenting the item in an attractive way. People might see an item’s potential with a touch of good styling.
Another way to add value is to specialize. If you become the “vintage halter top girl” everyone will come to your site for that specific item. You can connect with well-known influencers or interesting looking people to help add their presence on your site. This will make your vintage clothes appealing to others.
While upcycling is another option, sometimes people don’t want to significantly alter the original condition of vintage items. However, upcycling is a great way to add value to more common items like the items sold on Goodfair. That’s why we’ve set up the Goodfair Marketplace, where you can sell DIY upcycled Goodfair pieces at a higher price point than you bought it for.
Your own site hosted on Squarespace, Shopify or Wordpress: Selling vintage clothing on your own website gives you the greatest amount of control, but there can be a learning curve to set these up. Make sure your webpages are user-friendly and it’s easy to find and browse your items for sale. Websites like these usually have a blogging feature available, and blogging is a great way to engage your audience with written, informative content.
Goodfair Marketplace: This is best for selling upcycled items bought on Goodfair. We recently opened up, to help our community make money off of the items we sell on our site. Share your modified used and vintage clothing with tie dye, sewing, or painting your designs on our pieces.
Etsy, Depop, Poshmark, ThredUp, Grailed: These sites are user-friendly platforms specifically designed for clothing sales. List your items for sale, quickly and easily.
Vestiaire Collective and the Real Real: These sites are more tailored towards authentic, high-end designer items. If that’s your cup of tea, be sure to check out these sites.
Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace: These sites essentially replaced classified ads sites. Make sure you’re familiar with the different rules of posting on each platform and list your item with clear, searchable keywords.
Instagram, Tiktok, Pinterest, and Youtube: Selling vintage clothing on social media can be very lucrative. These are really visual sites, perfect for people who love design, videos, sharing, and online engagement. Instagram allows you to sell items directly from your profile if you have an IG business account. Tiktok is just a miracle for having fun and being creative, which is always great for getting exposure. Pinterest is a great search engine so you can post engaging visuals and link back to your main website. Youtube is also great to use as a search engine for popular video themes like thrift flips or thrift hauls. In your description you can list all of your social media profiles and selling channels.
Selling vintage clothing online is like riding a bike. The first few times you do it, you might crash and fail, but it gets easier over time. Just make sure you observe to learn what worked every time you make a sale. Here are some important ways to make it worth your time:
Do you have a special purpose, outlook, location, or identity that makes your vintage clothing reselling journey interesting to other people? Use that story to make it a special place for people to come and browse used clothes.
You can differentiate by specializing in certain types of items, packaging your items in a different way from others, or simply niching down to a certain region of sales. Perhaps you mostly serve high school skaters in the Pacific Northwest, and that’s ok. Your homies will love you for it.
Dark lighting means bad photography. It gives it that grainy, muddy look that’s a big turn off for clothes shoppers. Make sure you take your photos in good light, showing all of the important details, with a good layout and design.
Don’t crowd the photograph with your item--allow it to have a background and extra space around it. Better yet, show how it looks when someone wears it by photographing yourself or a friend in the piece of clothing.
If you want to make it easy to find your brand across different sites, use the same profile name or handle on every site and make it easy to remember. It also helps to consistently use the same profile picture, bio, and background photo on all of your profiles. Finally, once you settle on a photography style, use it consistently for all of your items. This simplifies things for you and the people who want to browse your site.
People often search for online vintage clothing based on keywords like the brand name and the item size, cut, color, and material. Use these essential details in your item title and description.
Once you’ve established yourself online and made a presence as a vintage clothing seller, it’s time to get more followers. Paid social media ads are a great way to do this. You can promote your site to certain types of users on Facebook and Instagram.
It’s important to refresh your content regularly, whether that’s with exciting news about your store, or simply updates about when your inventory is going to drop. No news is bad news, so generate a little bit of DIY publicity by telling people whenever you’ve made changes to your site, policy, approach, or life.
Don’t forget to engage with others, too. Ask questions, write back to people’s comments, share your personal journey and emotions along the way--make your site human and fun to be a part of.
We cannot possibly cover every detail about selling vintage clothing online in a single blog post, but hopefully we’ve given you something to chew on. Don’t be afraid to take risks, but remember that it takes a commitment to see the sales start to roll in. Want to get inspired by the pros? Read how these five resellers are making over six figures on Depop.
To get started on your next online vintage haul, check out our thrifted vintage clothing with new offerings every week, our authentic vintage t-shirt bundles, and more.
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Find the ingredients to lots of great summer outfits on the Goodfair site--whether it’s faded black t-shirts, sateen pants, Hawaiian shirts, or those baseball hats with wide, flat brims. Don’t leave your friends behind--our site lets you buy in bundles, so you can share the goods.
Here are some of our favorite ways to wear these summer clothes to the beach or skate park, wherever your wandering feet take you this summer.
Let’s say you want to wear a tropical pattern, but you don’t want to look like a tourist. All you have to do is buy a used Hawaiian shirt instead of new. The softened threads and washed out colors give it a more authentic look.
Wear your hand-me-down Hawaiian shirt with everything from swim trunks to khaki shorts. Top the look with a baseball hat in a muted color to shield your face from the sun. Take your towel to go by draping it around your neck on your way to the slushy line.
In summer, you need a place to tote your bubble gum and Chapstick. And besides, there’s nothing better to tuck an over-sized tank into than a fanny pack. We love thes ones with color-block patterns, black zips, and plastic buckle clips that scream fun.
Fill your beach day with bright rainbow colors, whether it’s with tie-dye or neon silk-screened lettering. Double up the look if you want to go out #twinning with your bestie at the beach.
Want to sparkle? Get yourself some satin pants. Even a little shimmer goes a long way in summer. Satin pants look good with layers, too. Tuck in your favorite long sleeve tee and top the look with an oversized botanical print from one of our Hawaiian shirts. This look has serious weekend vibes.
We love this paneled two-tone crewneck with a yellow baseball hat worn backwards. Wear these contrasting primary color solids with khaki shorts. Put on your walking shoes and pull up your white socks to keep the dust off your ankles. The result is a casual look you can wear to watch the sunsets from your woven lawn chair.
One of the most versatile summer pieces you can find is a maxi dress with a funky print and spaghetti straps. You can wear it alone with your favorite shades and necklace, or you can layer it over a tee. For an entirely different look, wear your tee on top of it and tie it in a knot at the waist. We love the way this dress looks with black chunky-soled mary janes.
You might be a thrifting addict if you shop for black tees in all different shades of faded dye after multiple washes. Get your own collection started with our bundle of four black tees.
Black tees have been a classic for everyone from metal band musicians to goths. We think they look good on everyone. Collect them in all sizes with different silk screen prints and colors of lettering.
Share your love of recycled clothes with our Goodfair crewneck sweatshirt this summer. They’re perfect for camping trips and weathering the summer storms. Take it with you to fish off your uncle’s dock, or stuff it into your duffle bag to use as a pillow on the plane.
Here are some effortless ways to make subtle shifts to your look with just a tuck or cuff for different occasions. Check out all of our before and after looks created by our styling team.
Are you craving something other than a plain t-shirt to pull on? See-through materials like lace and sheer fabrics add some mystery to your summer outfits.
Wear a white lace tank tucked into high-waisted straight leg jeans for a cute daytime outfit for going out for a bite to eat at lunch or running errands.
How to style: Lace tank tops can dress up a casual outfit instantly. Tuck your shirt in all of the way for a clean line around your waist. Pull the shirt out a touch so your outfit is comfortable and easy to move around in.
With this t-shirt made of lace, you don’t have to choose between your polished feminine and comfy casual style.
How to style: Wear this look with a “French tuck” by tucking just the front of the shirt into a pair of ripped jeans. Wearing lace with ripped jeans gives it a summer vibe for meeting up with friends for a picnic or browsing your local farmer’s market.
This summer top is great for layering over a black knit midi dress.
How to style: Tie a knot in the back of the dress for a styled outfit that shows off your shape. Using a back tie creates a more defined silhouette at the waist. The beauty of this look is you can wear it to transition from day to night by simply swapping your shoes. Wear it with sneakers, sandals, or heels to suit any mood or occasion.
Things are open now, and going out is on everyone’s minds. It’s the right time to have fun with style, since so many of your favorite pieces have been waiting in your closet for months. If you're in need of some [not] new pieces—grab a set of three mystery Dressy Tank Tops.
Shimmer like it’s the roaring twenties in a gold sequin top.
How to style: This summer top looks great with (faux) leather pants, tucked in just a tad in the front. A couple of quick tucks will make it look effortless and stylish. Wear this summer outfit with heels or a heeled bootie for a dinner date or to go out with friends.
Wear a black floral tank top for a goth-inspired look to channel your inner vampire on those warm summer nights.
How to style: This summer shirt can also be worn with (faux) leather pants and sandals or sneakers.
Thrifted button downs are the perfect summer shirt because you can style them in so many ways.
How to style: Leave a short-sleeve blouse open at the midriff apart from a few buttons, tied above the waist, or unbuttoned at the top and pulled down to reveal your neck and shoulders.
Nothing says summer picnics like gingham.
How to style: We styled this red gingham button down by buttoning just a few buttons in the middle of the shirt and tying the ends at the bottom. It feels relaxed and cute for daytime coffee dates or just going out to walk the dog.
The color of this brown button down is so earthy and chill.
How to style: We love how you can just button one or two buttons in summer and bare your midriff for a super casual, chill vibe. Wear the sleeves however you like, whether cuffed, rolled or scrunched and don’t be afraid of asymmetry if you can’t decide. This look works well with high waisted straight leg jeans.
Isn’t zebra print so cute on a summer top?
How to style: Recreate this look by leaving the top unbuttoned and tying it at the waist over a black knit midi dress. Roll up the sleeves and waltz into your favorite thrift store to browse the racks. This outfit is good for daytime, especially when you want to look polished.
Don’t forget to check the site each week for our newest drops for creating the perfect summer outfits or shop our summer collection of thrifted bundles.
]]>The phrase “non binary” can mean different things to different people: identifying as both genders, neither, one you weren’t assigned at birth, freely changing gender, and many other possibilities.
But the point is not just to look cute. It’s also about raising the visibility of people in the non-gender conforming community. According to the Phluid Foundation:
When it comes to fashion, non binary style involves a lot of experimentation and personal expression. Unlike cis gender fashion, non binary fashion doesn’t impose a particular fashion sense based on the gender we’ve been assigned at birth.
Who’s most likely to think outside of gender norms to define their identity? Pretty much anyone under the age of thirty. Thirty-one percent of people born after 1997 (otherwise known as Gen Z) consider themselves non-binary, according to one survey. Eighty-one percent of Gen Z respondents to another survey said that gender doesn’t matter as much as it used to.
Even if major fashion labels like Balenciaga, Coach and Versace are all waving their rainbow flags this month, you don’t have to jump on the fashion label bandwagon to show your pride. With thrift, you can cut, tuck, twist, fold, and reinvent fashion to your own tune. Here are some quick tips for having some wardrobe fun whether you’re in or out of the closet.
Non Binary Fashion Tips and Advice
There’s beauty in knowing the entire clothing store is yours to explore. Ignore the “men’s” and “women’s” sections of the store and search in every aisle. Not much of a retail shopper these days? The same principle applies online. Non binary fashion means that very category is yours: both cute summer skirts and board shorts.
Color and pattern are often neglected areas in gendered men’s clothing. The options marketed toward women tend to be a lot more liberal in their use of the palette, but we all want free rein of the rainbow.
What’s the point of non binary fashion if you can’t suggest some supernatural or historically novel reinterpretation of gender?
Gender-inclusivity extends to size-inclusivity as well. Use proportions to defy expectations, whether it’s with ultra-baggy pants and sweaters, or tight, cropped pieces.
Accessories usually come with a loaded masculine or feminine aesthetic. When you mix and match them, you create your own pastiche of influences. This could be a wallet chain with your dress, or high heels with your cargo shorts.
Non binary fashion doesn’t just mean blurring binaries of gender, you can also reinterpret all kinds of coded situations. Why dress in business casual to your zoom meeting, when you can throw on something goth-inspired?
If you’re not feeling your outfit, the best thing to do is get inspiration. There are loads of non binary fashion influencers--it’s often just a matter of finding your tribe online.
What is Non Binary Fashion?
A big part of non binary fashion is self-identification, rather than defaulting to the labels society places on you. The fashion codes you inhabit can match your gender identity, but they don’t have to. The point is using fashion to feel comfortable with your own identity, and having the choice to express this or not.
It’s also about creating space for others to feel comfortable in their constantly shifting identities. As trans, non binary author Chaidie Petris writes: “Fostering a nonjudgmental space when it comes to fashion and gender expression may seem small, and is indeed part of a much larger picture, but can really contribute to making queer youth feel more safe and accepted. Beyond the discomfort experienced by many pre-transition transgender and non-binary people, the fact is that very few people (yes, even cisgender people) have a gender expression that 100% aligns with their gender assigned at birth.”
What is Gender Neutral Clothing?
While non binary fashion may seem like it’s an “anything goes” situation, it does help to distinguish the difference between gender neutral clothing and gender fluid clothing. Gender neutral clothing is decidedly both genders at the same time, or clothing that makes it difficult to discern gender. This can be a minimal monochromatic look, or it can be something more flamboyant with lots of color and mixed patterns. Gender fluid clothing can inhabit different gender codes temporarily, while never fully settling on one or the other. It’s about adjusting your clothing based on how you feel at the moment.
For more style advice, check out 6 Pride Month Style Tips to Try for Gender Neutral Outfits.
Where Can I Buy Androgynous Clothing?
More and more clothing brands are starting to market their products without gendered shapes or forms. The Phluid Project sells clothing from a variety of brands promoting non binary clothing.
However, a large part of gender fluid and gender neutral clothing is not about letting a brand dictate your style. As fashion icon Radam Ridwan writes, in support of genderfree clothing: “Genderless fashion options are a step in the right direction. However, marketing a third choice to non-binary people, somewhere in the middle of male and female, is as problematic as the salmon polo shirt. The implication is that there are specific ways non-binary people should dress, a counterproductive message in the deconstruction of oppressive gender stereotypes.”
Another approach is simply reinventing what’s available. That’s why many non-binary shoppers thrive at thrift stores where there’s a huge pool of material to work with from different decades, price points, and aesthetics.
How Can I Look Non-Binary?
Gender-free fashion usually comes with having an innate understanding of how masculine and feminine fashion elements may lack some reflection of your identity. Start exploring the ways you associate different styles with gender and try to reinterpret based on ways your identity doesn’t fit these preconceptions.
It doesn’t have to mean completely reversing expectations (a man wearing a dress), it can also mean making subtle experiments with style. You can use color, pattern, sizing, proportions, accessories and many other stylistic elements to experiment outside the obvious outfit choices for a given gender.
Create Unique Non Binary Clothing Styles with Goodfair
To take your non binary fashion sense to the next level, a good place to start is by researching the looks of some of your favorite non binary icons. This could be retro icons like Prince, Grace Jones, David Bowie, or Boy George; or it could be contemporary icons like Miley Cyrus, Jaden Smith, or Demi Lovato.
Whichever direction you take your non binary style, we’re here to help you do it in a more eco-friendly way. Our products may be labeled "Men's" or "Women's" to communicate the fit of the garment, but that is in no way indicative of who we think should be wearing those items. We encourage our customers to explore the styles that are right for them!
Like with our Men's Grad Bundle or...
...our Women's Grad Bundle.
Need more to experiment with? Style our Tree Hugger Bundle in a way that channels your favorite icon’s vibe.
]]>If you unboxed your Goodfair surprise bundle and didn’t love what we sent, the last thing we’d want you to do is throw it away. Our aim is to reduce fashion waste, so we really want all of our used clothes to find new homes.
Now you can help us by reselling the unwanted items you bought from us. We’re launching our Goodfair Marketplace on June 1st for buying and selling pieces from Goodfair.
Here’s how it works:
The best part is you don’t have to sell your items the way you received them. You can reinvent our pieces by upcycling them, so get your crafting supplies ready.
Want to transform that denim jacket into a bucket hat? No problem. Here are some great ideas for ways to upcycle your Goodfair clothes.
Since it’s your marketplace, you get to set your own prices, too. We’d love for you to buy something for cheap and then sell it for 3x what you bought it for or more.
When you upload items, you’ll need to enter your email, phone, and order ID. This way, you can select the correct resale item from your sales history.
For each sale, you’ll earn 80% in cash or 100% in Goodfair credit of your sales price.
Shipping is easy, because we’ll send you a prepaid shipping label. All you have to do is wrap the item and slap the label on your package and send it away.
Want to make your account stand out? We interviewed a veteran thrift-flipper and she suggests some of the clothing resale following tips:
For more tips and tricks read this post on how to resell used clothes from Goodfair.
We can’t wait to see what you come up with. Create your Goodfair Marketplace profile ASAP.
Shoes are also more expensive than most other items in your closet. By repairing older shoes, you can save a lot of money.
You can even buy worn out shoes from the thrift store and revive them from their sad state. It’s so satisfying to take a flawed pair of Air Jordans or Doc Martens, and return them to the streets where they belong.
Here’s how to repair your shoes to make them last a long time.
This seems so obvious it’s almost not worth mentioning. But you’d be surprised how much this can freshen up a pair of laced shoes. Plus you can flex your style by choosing a unique color or design of laces.
Sometimes leather shoes take time to break in. This can be a painful process leading to lots of blisters. You can avoid ankle blisters by using a shoe stretcher to stretch out tight shoes.
Shoe glue is most commonly used to repair “delaminating soles.” This is the problem when your shoe sole starts to look like the mouth hole of a puppet. Seal uncomfortable gaps, cracks or flaps shut with your favorite glue like Shoe Goo or Gorilla Glue.
Before you apply the glue, clean your shoe with isopropyl alcohol and a clean, dry rag. Next, apply the glue to the part that needs to be repaired.
After you apply the glue, scrape off any excess with a pallet knife, putty knife or old credit card. Then press the glued form into place with tape, clamps, or weights.
When the glue has dried, you can sand off the excess glue streaks with sandpaper.
If your shoe sole is completely worn out, you’ll need to add more material to the bottom of the shoe. There are plenty of shoe repair kits for sale online or you can check these parts and pieces to replace the bottom of your shoes.
As with sealing gaps and holes in your shoes, you’ll need to clean the surface first and then apply shoe glue to the replacement piece, connect it to your shoe, and apply pressure to make sure it seals without cracks.
Angelus brand leather paint is a popular option for repairing sneakers and other shoes.
You’ll need to prepare a clean surface before you start. Clean the leather section you want to paint with isopropyl alcohol and then let it dry. Angelus also sells a leather prep solution for cleaning your shoes, which you can try.
If there are still smudge marks or leather coatings, sand off the rest with sand paper and blast your painting area clean with a handheld air compressor for cleaning electronics.
Avoid getting paint on other parts of the shoe by covering them with painters tape. Otherwise, you’ll just need to use a small, flat paint brush and paint very carefully.
For each coat, make sure you paint without creases by lightly feathering a flat paintbrush over the surface of the shoe.
Most leather paint takes about 3 coats for an opaque finish, and you should apply a finisher of your choice for the final coat. Angelus offers a variety of finishes: glossy, matte, and everything in between.
Cobblers know how to repair and reconstruct shoes of all types for long-lasting wear. For shoes that are worth a lot of money or difficult to repair, get professional help from a cobbler.
Need a crafting outfit for your at home repair projects? Shop our Artsy Bundle for a layered look that comes with an apron.
]]>Even though they sit out of sight and out of mind for most people, landfills are a critical part of our society. They are the final resting place of the massive amounts of materials we consume as part of our linear economy.
In a circular economy, our waste would revert back into useful supplies or fuel for our consumption, but we have a long way to go to get there.
So far, our landfills are mostly used to reduce the risk of wastewater contamination and harvested for methane fuel. But methane is a greenhouse gas roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide for atmospheric heating, so it’s not the best fuel source.
Things you might not know about landfills and solid waste disposal in the US:
Location: Riverside county, California (near Los Angeles)
Capacity: Capable of receiving 10,000 tons of solid waste per day
Collection: 43% of the county’s annual waste is processed annually
Waste type: Non-hazardous waste
Interesting facts: El Sobrante powers 3,800 homes from methane gas produced at its 3 gas-to-energy plants. Six hundred acres of the landfill have been designated a permanent habitat preserve.
Location: Sylmar, California (serving Los Angeles)
Capacity: The total site size is 1,036 acres and its waste disposal area is 363 acres
Collection: It is permitted to receive 8,300 tons of MSW per day and it processes 2.5 million tons of waste annually
Waste type: Non-hazardous waste
Interesting facts: The landfill opened in 1958 and is expected to close in 2037.
Location: On the southwest side of Denver
Capacity: The site permits a footprint of 1,363 acres with a remaining capacity of 274 million cubic yards.
Collection: 2.1 million tons annually from the Denver metro area
Waste type: Asbestos and non-hazardous waste
Interesting fact: The site produces 2.8 MW of energy from methane gas each year and 2.6 acres are solely dedicated to asbestos disposal.
In 2018, 11.3 million tons of municipal solid waste in the US came from textiles, which accounts for 6% of the debris. While only about 15% of that material was recycled, 95% of the textiles thrown away could be reused or recycled.
Obviously sustainable clothing habits can lower the amount of materials sent to landfills. Keep clothes out of the waste stream by buying secondhand clothing, wearing clothes longer, upcycling, repairing, reselling, and swapping clothes.
It’s important for us to all do our part in reducing our overall consumption to reduce the burden on both our resources and our landfills.