It is a well-known fact that the fashion industry is one of the fastest and most polluting industries in the world. Due to the ecological awareness being raised every day little by little, people are starting to change their fashion and clothes-related habits. As babies grow really fast, the baby fashion industry is among the most unsustainable ones. A lot of clothes are produced only to be worn once or twice. And such a trend pollutes our planet. To prevent that from happening, parents have started thinking about how they can be more sustainable when it comes to baby clothes. And they have come up with some plausible solutions.
First of all, you need to make sure that your baby is both safe and comfortable. You can do that by opting for clothes made from organic fabrics. To avoid buying too many things (some of which your baby never even actually wears), you should focus on buying only things your baby really needs. Moreover, baby clothes are often in good condition as they are worn only a few times, so you can consider selling them or swapping them for more age-appropriate clothes. You should restrain from buying too many unnecessary things – this is not easy, though, when you see all those cute little outfits. But you should try to be rational and eco-friendly. What’s more, when buying clothes, you should know the certifications. Keep reading to learn more as there are numerous reasons to buy sustainable clothes.
1. Opt for organic fabrics
To produce clothes from cotton and polyester, manufacturers often use hazardous chemicals. That is not good for adults either, but we are more resilient than babies. Babies are sensitive and their immune system is still developing, so it could be harmful to dress them up in such clothes. The best way to make sure your baby is wearing safe and suitable clothes is by buying clothes made from organic cotton. Such clothes are not only produced from organic materials, but generally, the whole process of clothing production is organic and free of hazardous chemicals. Hence, organic baby clothes are safe for babies’ sensitive skin.
2. Buy only things your baby really needs
This one is really tough to resist. Parents, especially first-time parents, tend to buy too many clothes for their precious little bundle of joy. However, we should keep in mind that such behaviour is highly unsustainable. You should try and focus on getting only the things our baby really needs. Resist the urge to buy things that are not practical and that your baby will wear only once. Get the basics you can mix and match easily. Also, you shouldn’t buy things that are lavishly expensive, as babies tend to get dirty quickly and stain their clothes with food.
3. Sell or swap baby clothes
A great way to be more eco-friendly is to put the worn (but still in good condition) baby clothes to good use. There are a few plausible things you can do. For instance, you can donate the clothes to somebody who needs them. You can sell clothes online. There are some platforms or groups made only for that, so you can do your research, find and join them. Another thing you can do is swap clothes with someone. Give them clothes you don’t need anymore and get the clothes you do need. Babies grow out of things so fast, so this is a great way to be both sustainable and save money.
4. Don’t buy too many things
Even though we all know that sometimes we need to change our babies a few times a day, that doesn’t mean that we need to buy too many outfits. That will only lead to clutter and unnecessary waste as babies outgrow their clothes pretty fast. You can make a list of things your baby wears and how many of each item you need to be able to function well. If you don’t have the experience to decide on this, you can always seek advice online. Visit some forums, read some blogs – surely you can find some ready-made lists. You can even download and print out many of them, so they are quite handy.
5. Know the certifications
When choosing baby clothes, it’s necessary to know how to recognize quality things, beyond ‘organic’ written on them. You should do your research online and find out about this topic more. You should know what things matter and what you should look for when reading the label. Not all clothes with the label ‘organic’ are truly organic. Perhaps they are made with organic materials, but the manufacturing process itself is not organic. So, we should really know the certifications.
We can all do something to live a more sustainable life. Being eco-friendly when choosing baby clothes can do wonders for our planet.
Love to read your wonderful article.