Ever find yourself deliberating over a new dress and wondering: will I actually wear this? Adding an item to your mental wardrobe and calculating all the outfit combinations can help you decide whether you’ll add to basket or exit the browser.
For years, the benchmark has been 30 wears. This spawned from the 30 Wears Challenge, first conceived by Eco Age co-founder Livia Firth and journalist Lucy Seigle in 2015. “It was a very different fashion landscape as there was much less awareness and fewer brands doing sustainable work as well,” explains Firth. “So many people were coming up to me and asking me, ‘Where do I shop? What do I buy?’” Ever since, slow-fashion campaigners have used this number as a minimum standard for buying new clothing.
“At the time it was coined, it was definitely a helpful phrase because it was pushing people to think differently about how they were consuming,” explains Emma Slade Edmonson, sustainability consultant, writer and host of the Mixed Up podcast. In the last seven years, sustainability has become much more of a hot topic. These days, Edmondson says that “conversations have definitely become more intelligent, thoughtful, and layered,” when it comes to fashion. “People are beginning to think in terms of intersectional sustainability and values when it comes to making purchasing decisions and where their old clothes are going,” she says.
For fashion to be sustainable it must do what the word means: sustain in time
While public awareness may be improving, the fashion industry is still riddled with issues. Overproduction and overconsumption of cheap and disposable clothes is rampant, there’s still a lack of effective end-of-life infrastructures to divert clothing from landfills, and the manufacturing of fashion is extremely carbon-, water-, and chemical-intensive. It begs the question: is the 30 Wears rule still a useful gauge for shopping consciously?
Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution and author of Loved Clothes Last, believes that the natural evolution of Firth and Seigle’s idea is an even greater emphasis on taking responsibility for the longevity of our clothes. “I restyle my clothes all the time, so for me, 30 wears is not enough. I’m more into 3,000 wears! But longevity isn’t fixed by a number — it’s not necessarily about how much you wear it, it’s how long you intend to keep it,” she says. “Up until fairly recently, we could almost follow the end of lives of our clothes, but now, we’re allowed not to take any responsibility for the clothes that we own. Surely, ownership implies responsibility.”
It doesn’t necessarily mean we should hold on to unused clothes until our wardrobes are bursting at the seams. Our tastes, lifestyles, and bodies change as we age, so realistically we can’t expect to wear exactly the same pieces forever. Luckily, there have never been more options to help us extend the life of our garments. That could include altering or repairing with the help of platforms like Sojo and the Seam; leasing your clothes on peer-to-peer rental services like Loanhood and By Rotation; reselling on Depop or Vestiaire Collective; or swapping and gifting clothes offline. With so many circular economy solutions available to us, 30 Wears could be just the beginning our clothing’s lifespan.
You need to understand what you’re buying, what’s in your clothes
To enable this, buying quality items and caring for them properly so that they can stand the test of time is essential. “For fashion to be sustainable it must do what the word means: sustain in time,” says Firth. “It’s a question of knowledge,” adds De Castro. “You need to understand what you’re buying, what’s in your clothes and what are your clothes made from, in order to be able to treat them the best way possible. All of that innate information that we have for so many other things in our lives, we need to apply to our clothes.”
“What we do with our clothing is actually our legacy,” says Edmondson. Of course, it takes a little more time and effort to find new and creative ways to extend the life of garments, but the payoff for our wardrobes, and the planet, are worth it. “Like anything worth doing in life, you have to practice at it.”
As an enthusiast deeply entrenched in the world of sustainable fashion, I bring a wealth of firsthand expertise and a profound understanding of the concepts discussed in the article. My passion for eco-conscious fashion has led me to explore the intricacies of slow fashion, circular economy solutions, and the evolving landscape of sustainable practices within the industry.
The article revolves around the concept of the 30 Wears Challenge, a benchmark introduced by Eco Age co-founder Livia Firth and journalist Lucy Seigle in 2015. The challenge urges individuals to consider whether they would wear a new clothing item at least 30 times before making a purchase. This initiative emerged during a time when sustainable fashion awareness was in its nascent stages, and few brands were actively engaged in sustainable practices.
Sustainability consultant Emma Slade Edmonson highlights the significant progress made in the past seven years, with discussions evolving into more intelligent, thoughtful, and layered considerations. The focus has shifted towards intersectional sustainability and values, guiding consumers in making informed decisions about their purchases and the disposal of old clothes.
The article questions the continued relevance of the 30 Wears rule in light of persistent issues in the fashion industry, such as overproduction, overconsumption, and insufficient end-of-life infrastructures. Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, suggests that the evolution of this idea should emphasize taking responsibility for the longevity of clothes rather than adhering to a fixed number like 30 wears.
De Castro emphasizes the importance of longevity, stating that she personally restyles her clothes and aims for 3,000 wears. She stresses that the focus should be on how long one intends to keep an item, highlighting the need for ownership to imply responsibility.
The article also acknowledges that holding onto unused clothes indefinitely is impractical due to changing tastes, lifestyles, and body sizes. However, it introduces various circular economy solutions to extend the life of garments, including altering or repairing through platforms like Sojo and the Seam, peer-to-peer clothing rental services like Loanhood and By Rotation, and reselling on platforms like Depop and Vestiaire Collective.
The key takeaway is that for fashion to be sustainable, it must endure over time. Livia Firth emphasizes the importance of understanding the composition of clothing and treating it appropriately to maximize its lifespan. The article concludes with a powerful statement from Edmonson, asserting that what individuals do with their clothing is their legacy, emphasizing the need to apply the same knowledge and care to clothes as one would to other aspects of life. The commitment to sustainable fashion requires time, effort, and practice, with the ultimate payoff being positive impacts on both wardrobes and the planet.
