The green movement has made its way into students’ closets.
The fashion industry is jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon with recycled, vintage and sustainable clothing. And with consignment shops and eco-conscious boutiques popping up in Baton Rouge, going green has never been easier for University students.
“The fashion industry puts off a ton of waste,” said Mary Singleton, manager of conscious boutique Noelie Harmon. “I think green is not going to be an option in the next 20 to 25 years. I think everyone’s just going to go that way.”
The Baton Rouge shop aims to “provide our community with extraordinary, safe products that are uniquely designed and made with consciousness,” according to the Noelie Harmon website.
“Companies are seeing that people really care about these things,” said Amy Strother, owner of the boutique. “Making eco-friendly shopping much easier.”
Young people have played an important role in promoting environmental awareness, and the fashion aspect of the trend is no different, Strother said.”College students are more educated on the green movement and more open-minded,” she said. “They mostly come in to buy TOMS shoes, honestly. A lot of [college students] associate being eco-friendly with one purchase as opposed to a lifestyle. But they learn there’s a little more to it than that, and they start buying more things.”
But eco-friendly shopping can benefit more than just the environment, Strother said.”Being green is probably the cheapest way to go,” she said. “You just go back to your basics. You can even go to garage sales and find valuable antiques for close to nothing. You just have to be resourceful.”
Helping the environment by recycling clothes can literally pay off, with consignment shops such as Plato’s Closet offering cash on the spot for gently used clothing and accessories.”It’s different from a regular consignment [shop],” said Brooke Smith, district manager of Plato’s Closet. “You don’t have to wait for it to sell. So people can bring in their clothes and get cash right there.”
While the shop doesn’t have many organic outfits, shopping and selling at the store still reduces waste, Smith said.
“Once you start shopping here and get hooked on it, you’re constantly recycling things,” she said. “You can have a whole new wardrobe every six months, and instead of wasting and throwing your clothes away, you can get cash for them.”
Smith said the store also helps the environment in ways other than clothing.”We’ve implemented a lot of procedures in our store to reduce waste. We don’t do a lot of reports; everything’s electronic,” she said. “So even within the company, we’re trying to be more green with everything.”
Consignment shops are perfect for college students looking to be eco-friendly on a budget, Smith said.
“It’s kind of incredible,” she said. “We have designer jeans for like $35. You can reinvent yourself and not blow your wallet.”
Besides being friendly to your wallet and the environment, Strother said eco-friendly shopping also helps others.”It can be a very toxic process, when you’re speaking about manufacturing, both for the environment and the person making the clothes,” she said. “When you shop vintage or eco-friendly, not only are you making a purchase based on that the product didn’t pollute the environment, but also that it wasn’t harmful to another person.”Singleton said the fashion industry is making a necessary move in the direction of environmental consciousness.”Fashion is something we all wear every single day. You don’t have a choice,” she said. “Fashion has to be a part of your life, making it that much more important to be aware of its environmental impact.”–
Contact Annie Hundley at [email protected]