Oh my God, I love your skirt. Where did you get it??

It's called V I N T A G E. Which, unless it came from your mom's or fashionable aunt's closet, can be outdated, overpriced, or has a smell that you just can't get rid of. As a slave to fashion, I've drawn the conclusion that new things are just fun. But our fashion vices don't have to be brand new to be "new" to us!

It wasn't until I read The Green Book, however, that I realized how resource-exhaustive the production and distribution of new clothes/shoes/everything good ever is. According to the text, the average American purchases 48 new pieces of clothing annually. If one of those pieces of clothing were replaced by a secondhand purchase, half a gallon of gasoline could be saved. This is because significant resources go into the manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of clothing.

You would also be saving a large amount of water, as well. It's not something we think about often, but every tshirt and pair of jeans gets its start in a cotton field. Historically, the average amount of water that it takes to create enough cotton for a pair of jeans is about 1800-2700 gallons (about as much as it takes to fill a 6-foot round plunge pool).* On top of that, production of one pair of jeans could release 44 pounds of carbon dioxide (we hate her!!) into the atmosphere. Pretty insane numbers when you consider the magnitude of clothing produced, right?

Luckily, production practices have improved for denim clothing in the last few years. Levi's, for example, has implemented water use-reducing initiatives into their manufacturing processes. Other companies, such as Everlane and Patagonia, have also made strides to decrease their footprint. Everlane offers a "clean jean," produced in a facility that boasts water harvesting practices, solar panels, mini windmills, and water filtration systems that rid the factory's water of contaminants.* Through their innovative practices, they have decreased the cost of eco-friendly jeans in the market from $90-170 to $68.

Patagonia is always doing the absolute most when it comes to environmental initiatives (donating $10M tax cut to fight climate change?? ICONIC). From incorporating water bottles into jacket insulation to awarding credit to customers who return used Patagonia gear, they are a driving force in the industry. One thing I love in particular about their clothing is the inclusion of resource-use information on the inside of some of their tshirts. For example, on the inside of one of my Patagucci shirts, it lists how many water bottles and gallons of water were used to make that shirt. Now that's what I call customer education!

The problem here, though, is that we don't all have the funds to splurge on these premium brands. So next time you're searching for new clothes, consider checking out your local secondhand stores - or check out websites like Poshmark that sell gently used clothing!

Tucson secondhand shops:

Buffalo Exchange - 1214 N 6th Ave

Sweet Repeats - 7936 N Oracle Rd

Tucson Thrift Shop - 319 N 4th Ave

Have a suggestion? Comment below!