Beth Doane, founder and designer of Rain Tees shares her top tips for a truly green closet.
· First step in my little book of how to green up a wardrobe is to do what I call a “closet clean up”. Simply go through each piece you own and donate everything that you don’t want, need, or wear consistently. For me, consistently is at least once a month in the appropriate season, except special occasion items. You may be amazed by what you find tucked away in old drawers or messy closets. Donating and recycling is the best option here because when clothes are just thrown away (and believe it or not millions of them are every week as only 14% of our clothes are actually recycled), they end up in landfills where massive amounts of methane are released throughout the decaying process, contributing to climate change.
· Follow our Rain Tees motto and wash clothes cold to save energy and cut down on carbon emissions. We recommend washing with cool water settings and no tumble-drying clothes if possible. Always use an eco-friendly detergent as well. We like this one. We also like to go natural and bring out the clothes line on bright sunny days.
· Try cutting back on buying items that are dry clean only, as many dry-cleaning chemicals are unbelievably toxic to the environment and to us. If you happen to be living in a super fab city that has eco friendly dry-cleaners, then lucky you! Go support them for making a big step towards safer living for all of us. If not, try hand washing your items with an eco soap in cool water.
· Perhaps the most powerful change we can make to our wardrobes is to make what I call an “eco pact” with ourselves. This eco pact is like a personal promise to only buy clothes that are eco-friendly and reflect our values. I did this a few years ago and it has totally changed my life and my buying habits for the better. Every piece in my wardrobe suddenly has a story to tell and it’s created a mad love affair with things like vintage and recycled eco silk that I just can’t get over, but in the best way.
By
Beth Doane
Rain Tees Founder and Designer