3. Buy Secondhand or Vintage

One of the best ways to mitigate the environmental devastation of the fashion industry is to buy vintage and secondhand clothing. Thrifting even makes products from fast fashion brands more ethical because the secondhand market doesn’t create demand for fast fashion, and reusing clothing reduces the massive amounts of clothing sent to landfills every year. Fortunately, secondhand fashion is also cheaper than some other ethical alternatives. The drawback to secondhand fashion is that the used clothing industry doesn’t increase demand for fair trade products, and thus doesn’t increase the number of fair trade job opportunities in developing countries.

While shopping secondhand, you can maximize your ethical impact by looking for well-made clothing, ethical brands, and ethically-produced mass brands. Wearing fast fashion brands can help contribute to the demand for those brands, even if you didn’t buy the clothing new.

Protip: when buying used clothing, always put your purchases in ziploc bags to take home and wash them thoroughly before wearing. The risk of bedbugs and other critters is minimal, but it’s always worth taking precautions.

Don’t forget to sell or donate your clothes back to thrift stores when you’re finished with them to continue the recycling loop!

4. Look at the Ethical Records of Larger Brands

Some larger clothing brands have taken steps to reduce their environmental impact and improve their treatment of workers. You can find out more about the ethical practices of your favorite companies on Green America’s Responsible Shopper Guide and Retailer Scorecard.These tools can help you identify larger brands that align with your ethics, and brands that don’t.

When considering whether to continue buying from larger brands, ask how ethical the brand is as a whole. For example, while H&M has introduced an environmentally-friendly “conscious collection” in the past few years, their overall business model of selling cheap clothes to be worn a few times and thrown away is fundamentally unsustainable. In addition, they have a questionable reputation on human rights. Just this year, four people were injured in another H&M supplier factory and H&M found Syrian refugee children working in one of their factories in Turkey. Avoid brands that try to put an ethical spin on their practices and instead look for brands that show a full commitment to your ethical principles.

5. Ask “Why?” instead of “Why not?”

Nearly all of us have made a purchase only to regret it later. Instead of asking yourself “why not?” when thinking about whether to buy a particular item, think “why?” Focus on finding and buying pieces that you really love. Your closet and your wallet will thank you!

One of the key concepts in ethical fashion is buying fewer, nicer items. Instead of buying 30 items, buy ten items that you really love. Save up for a piece you’ve always wanted (we’ve been saving up for this bag from Manos Zapotecas). Ethical items are often much higher quality than conventional items, so your ethical pieces will last much longer. Shopping ethically may actually save you money in the long run!

As a side note, fair trade and ethical products aren’t necessarily more expensive than products from major brands. Some products, like jewelry, may even be cheaper.

6. Pick Classics That Never Go Out of Style.

The popularity of fast fashion has driven the rise of fashion “microcycles”. Styles used to go out of fashion as the seasons changed, but now, an item that was in fashion last week could literally be out of fashion this week. Beat the weekly fashion microcycle by pursuing simpler, more timeless looks that are always in style, like a-line dresses and skirts, jeans, pencil skirts, and collared shirts. Rejecting weekly fashion trends can also help you develop your own, distinctive look.