Sustainable fashion, a.k.a. vintage, has to be one of the coolest trends of 2021. It is environment friendly, affordable and very stylish. It almost sounds too good to be true. So, let’s take a look at why vintage fashion has become a trend, and how it works.
Remember, sustainable clothing is the future for the new generations (like Gen Z) and it’s therefore a perfect 18th birthday gift.
The backstory
Vintage fashion has not always been as trendy and cool as it is today. I’m sure most of you remember the time that we called it ‘second-hand clothing’. It was found in dusty old shops, and it looked like clothing our grandparents used to wear… not so glamorous.
Luckily, the entire concept of vintage fashion has gone through a major rebrand before it became a world-wide trend.
Instead of looking at these pieces of clothing as old and outdated, we see them as the unique, authentic gems that they are, and we appreciate their value.
Entire stores and venues have been opened, dedicated to give these pre-loved pieces of clothing a second home.
The value of sustainable fashion
Vintage clothing is valuable in so many aspects. It carries a lot of cultural value, which is great for people with an eye for fashion, for people who appreciate history or people who are just very, very stylish, and unique. But next to that, vintage fashion is also better for our environment.
Sustainable clothing for fashion lovers
Most vintage pieces are one of a kind. You can’t buy them in big stocks at warehouses, where they sell thousands of the same t-shirts. This does mean you have to put in a little work, scanning through all the racks at a vintage store (which is not a punishment at all). But when you do find something, you love, you can be sure that you will stand out of the crowd with a unique piece of clothing.
Another advantage of sustainable fashion is that vintage clothing is of higher quality than most clothing made today. The fashion industry of today is created around ‘fast fashion’. This basically means that factories are made to produce a lot of clothing as fast as they can, which is at the expense of the clothing’s quality. This was totally different a few decades ago clothing was made to have great quality and to last a lifetime, with more natural fibers and less chemical materials.
Luckily there are tons of retailers who value the quality of clothing and have dedicated entire collections to sustainable clothing, with natural fibers and fabrics.
Sustainable clothing for culture lovers
Something that is really cool about vintage clothing, is that it is ‘pre-loved’. The name already says it, each individual item has a back story. Sometimes famous and sometimes unknown. How interesting is that?
Last but not least: Sustainable clothing for earth lovers
The fact that vintage clothing is good for the environment is arguably the best thing about the trend. It challenges our creative minds to reuse pre-loved items, and it also allows us to enjoy our planet earth longer.
Vintage clothing is better for the environment since it only needs to be produced once. Next to that, most clothing that was produced over a decade ago contain less chemical materials. Therefore, these pieces of clothing cause less harm to the environment, even after being produced. When (for example) a pair of vintage jeans has been ‘pre-loved’ for so long that you can’t wear it anymore, the materials of the jeans are decomposed easily. The fabrics contain less chemicals and are usually pure enough to be recycled.
A lot of retailers of ‘fast-fashion’ brand have started to produce more sustainable clothing, and sometimes dedicate entire collection to these environment friendly pieces.
