There is a TON of information about sustainable and ethical fashion on the internet and the fact that we all have access to it is fantastic, but also a bit overwhelming! With this series I will try to break it down into manageable parts. Each week of "Sustainable Saturdays" I will touch on different aspects of how you, as a "consumer," can do your part for sustainable fashion. This week is a quick post on how to clean the clothing you already own and love, while keeping your environmental impact small!

Washing Your Clothes:

-Limit yourself to washing clothes no more than once a week.

-Wash in cold water and full cycles as much as possible.

-Hand wash and line dry when you can.

-Try an environmentally friendly detergent like The Simply Co.'s or castile soap. I just bought both products (castile soap is an "all-purpose" kind of product) and can't wait to try them out!

-Wash your jeans less frequently. (This will also keep them looking their best for longer!)

Dry cleaning clothes:

-Find a sustainable dry cleaner that is willing to recycle your garment bags/hangers and uses non-toxic cleaners. This involves some searching but is worth it!

-Actually read your clothing labels and make sure that you are only dry cleaning the items that NEED to be.

-Take it a step further and re-evaluate if everything that says "dry clean" on the label actually does need to be. A lot of the time brands will say that a garment needs to be dry cleaned in order to keep themselves from being blamed for any damages, but if you're careful, there are probably items that can be hand washed or washed on a delicate cycle instead.

These are ways to begin thinking differently about your clothes and how you maintain them. However, like I said before, there's so much more. If you're hungry for more check out my references:

Bea Johnson has been living a zero-waste lifestyle with her family of four since 2008. Amazing. Check out her website that is chock full of information and great tips. I am working my way through her website (and soon her book) as well. There's so much to learn, and she's from my hometown no less!

Kate Ludwig is a good friend of mine and how I found out about Bea. Kate has an incredible section of her website dedicated to sustainability called Kactus Home. Kate has, and continues to inspire me to adopt sustainable practices into my every day life. I am so grateful for her encouragement and lifelong friendship.