How to Shop For Sustainable Fashion on A Budget in 2024 (2024)

The most sustainable clothing item (and most budget friendly!) will always be the one you already have. Thus, the best thing we can do is wear our existing clothes for longer.

This requires us to take care of our clothes so they last as long as possible. Learning how to properly launder, maintain, and store our clothes can go a long way! Additionally, challenge yourself to try out new outfit combinations that you would not have thought of before.

A yearly or seasonal analysis of your closet is very helpful to ensure you know exactly what you have in there! I personally love to put half of my clothes away each year (for seasonal needs) and then, once it’s time to bring them back out again, it’s like an entirely new closet!

Instead of throwing out an item when it becomes damaged, repair it! No, you don’t have to be a Martha Stewart type – you can (very affordably) pay a local person to fix it for you.

It’s often cheaper to fix something than it is to buy a replacement. Plus, the environmental benefit far exceeds the time or effort it may take to repair the piece. There are so many resources available to teach yourself basic repair, like these videos on hand sewing, mending holes, or replacing buttons.

If DIY isn’t for you, befriending your local tailor can be a great way to get your clothes fixed while supporting your local economy! Sustainable fashion on a budget can also help support local.

When it comes time to add a sustainable fashion piece to your closet, look secondhand first.

Secondhand is a great way to get new-to-you items without the higher price tag of a sustainable fashion brand. There are many ways to shop secondhand from in-person thrift shops to online platforms. Often, you can even find secondhand versions of the sustainable fashion brands and pieces you love (sustainable fashion on a budget usually comes with a lot of patience!).

Seeking out secondhand sources doesn’t always have to mean thrifting either. Consider participating in sharing economies. The sharing economy is using peer-to-peer methods of sharing, accessing, and providing goods and services. One avenue for this is a Buy Nothing Facebook group that allows you to gift your unused items or be gifted items you need within your local community. Other ways may look like swapping, borrowing, renting, or using exchange platforms.

Part of the sustainable living journey is committing to buying less overall. This is not talked about enough – but it is a huge benefit for our finances and overall mental health.

We have to shift our mindset away from consumption patterns. Instead of regularly spending money on cheap clothes, pause your purchases, save, and invest in ethical clothing brands. Only buy pieces that you love, are high quality, and will last you a long time. You’d be surprised how much money you can save just by mitigating impulse purchases and trend-led shopping.

Cost Per Wear (CPW) is a method used to break down the upfront cost of a garment based on the number of times you will wear it. The item price divided by the estimated wears is the cost per wear. For example, if an item costs $100 and you estimate wearing it 50 times, the CPW is $2.

Cost per wear can be used to evaluate whether a purchase is worth the investment. We tend to think sustainable fashion costs more, but looking at the long term costs, that may not be the case. For example, investing in a more expensive sustainable fashion piece can actually end up with a lower CPW due to quality allowing for more wears than a cheaper item.

Impulse shopping often leads to regret and clothing purchases that don’t get a lot of wear.

By reducing our impulse shopping, we can save ourselves from purchases that waste our money. Then, we have more cash to spend intentionally on pieces we will really love to wear.

To limit impulse shopping, give yourself time before making a purchase, understand your personal style, and use filtering questions like does it fill a gap in my wardrobe? or is it well-constructed to last? before buying something to ensure you will truly make use of your purchase.

If you feel as if there may be a shopping addiction present, please seek help as soon as possible.

A sustainable wardrobe will be full of versatile, quality pieces that will be in your closet for years to come.

To build a more eco-conscious wardrobe and reduce your cost per wear, shop from sustainable fashion brands that align with your personal style and will fit in well with what you have. This will ensure that you will get a lot of wears out of your pieces. To increase the versatility of your closet, start by adding basic, multi-functional pieces to your closet.

There are many affordable ethical brands that offer great pieces at a great price. Some of our favorites are listed below!

Sustainable fashion should be slower. If you want to avoid spending full price on an item, plan ahead. A conscious closet should always come with mindful decision making.

Create a list of your needs and gaps in your closet. Then, give yourself time to acquire them.

If you are wanting to shop new from a sustainable brand, wait for a sale. Sign up for their mailing list to be notified of discounts. If shopping secondhand, create search alerts on secondhand sites to track items you’re looking for. Be patient and disconnect from the need for instant gratification.