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| Super Fashionista Landfill Woman Saves The Day – How My Recycled Clothing Style Sense Is Saving The World (This column has been adapted from Shawna's Blog - www.gardeningnude.com) My fashion sense is legendary. Okay, perhaps not legendary, but significant and creative at least. Wherever I go I receive compliments on the clothing I wear. No kidding – almost every day. And it’s good stuff too – I wear Ann Taylor, Gap, Abercrombie, Limited, and many other high-end brands. How do I afford these luxuries on a writer’s salary? You got it Baby – I shop resale! Why? It’s an easy choice to make when you earn a slim salary. It’s also the RIGHT THING TO DO in relationship to saving the world and greening. Landfills are rapidly filling to the brim with lots of garbage which could be recycled – clothing and textiles are an enormous part of that garbage. When ordering up a perfect world, no one shouts, “Can I take a giant landfill with a side of contaminated groundwater please?” I mean, c’mon people, start listening to your inner “green” voice. It’s that little voice that gives you common sense about the basics to being green. We all have it, but how often do we listen? Because of popular media’s repeated announcements, we all know that landfills are rapidly becoming one of the United States largest problems in relationship to conservation. They are filled – almost – to the top. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 4.5%, or 4 million TONS of all waste sent to municipal landfills is comprised of textiles - clothing and fabric. Synthetic fiber products will not decompose, and as a result present problems in the landfill. While garments made of wool do decompose, they also produce methane which contributes to global warming. You know what that means, right? And I hope you are listening now - if you can’t go naked, you should go USED. That’s right – it’s time we remembered the lessons from our grandmothers; don’t throw away what could still be used and recycled. It’s wasteful and wrong. With that message in mind, I give old clothes away to friends who are less fortunate or a retail outlet like Goodwill or my local resale shop. Oft times the profits from these shops go to help a special cause. With all my old clothes getting reused I save the world – okay – well, at least I save a small portion of landfill space. Every little bit helps. This recycling mindset has been translated into my cool clothing secret - - amazing fashion finds at ridiculously low prices. One of my recent shopping trips landed six sweaters, one pair of jeans, one fake-fur jacket, one blouse, three scarves, and two pair of really hot boots. I can mix and match almost all fourteen items and all of the clothing is a high-end brand name. I spent $43.00 for the entire lot and got myself an entirely new wardrobe for the Fall season for an average of $3.00 per piece. Oh yeah – I’m a genius. You can save the world too – get your fashion sense pointed in the “do-the-right-thing-be-green” direction and you will also be shouting, “Super Fashionista Landfill Hero saves the day!” Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blog – www.gardeningnude.com |
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