Hello Beautiful!
Earth Month is officially over. And if you're anything like me, you're probably a little tired of the content. The infographics. The "here's what you can do" lists. The brands suddenly very passionate about the planet for 30 days straight.
So I'll keep this simple. Just one thing I've been thinking about, something that genuinely surprised me when I first started hearing about it.
It's about donating clothes.
Most of us feel good about it. A bag by the door, a trip to the charity shop, job done. We've given something a second life. We're one of the good ones.
Except, a huge portion of what gets donated doesn't end up on a local rack. It gets exported. Shipped in bulk to markets in Ghana, Chile, Kenya, the Philippines.
And the volumes are so staggering that these places simply can't absorb it all.
➡️ In Ghana’s Kantamanto Market alone, around 15 million garments arrive every single week - and up to 40% becomes waste, ending up in landfills, burned, or washed into the ocean.
➡️ In Chile’s Atacama Desert, there are now mountains of clothing so large they’re visible from space.
I'm not saying this to make you feel bad. I do the donation bag too. But it genuinely changed how I think about the whole cycle, not just what I give away, but what I bring home in the first place.
PLASTIC PROBLEM
And here’s where it gets worse…
More than 60% of clothing today is made from synthetic fibres - polyester, nylon, acrylic. At their core, they’re plastic.
They don’t biodegrade, they shed microplastics. And those microplastics don’t just disappear…
They’ve been found in our water, our food, and even the air we breathe.
So when we donate something made from these materials, we’re not always extending its life.
We’re often just moving the problem somewhere else, a delayed disposal.
And I know… this isn’t the easiest thing to sit with. So this isn’t about guilt, it’s about awareness.
🎥 Once you understand the full lifecycle of what you wear, you start to see your choices differently. This is exactly what’s called a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) - looking at a product from creation to disposal - and it’s one of the most powerful lenses in sustainable fashion, here’s the video I created to help educate and inform:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAEZDA1REEc
Fashion is meant to be fun, so let’s enjoy it! While being mindful & intentional ;P
Here are some small shifts that compound:
🫶🏼 Buy less, but better: The most sustainable piece is the one already in your wardrobe.
🫶🏼 Choose materials intentionally: Natural fibres (organic cotton, linen, hemp) or next-gen materials have a completely different end-of-life impact than synthetics.
🫶🏼 Extend the life before donating: Repair it. Restyle it. Rewear it. Donation should be a last step, not the default.
🫶🏼 Donate with intention: If it’s damaged, overly worn, or low-quality - it’s unlikely to be resold. Ask yourself honestly: would someone actually choose this?
🫶🏼 Explore better end-of-life options:
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Local textile recycling programs (where available)
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Brands with take-back schemes
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Upcycling / tailoring
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Clothing swaps (seriously underrated)
I’m not saying we put an end to donating - thrifting has a very useful, genuine and awesome place in the world of shopping and fashion - hello vintage!
I just want to emphasize that what we buy matters just as much as what we give away.
Being mindful that every piece we bring into our wardrobe… has a life beyond us.
🌍 If this shifted something for you, share this with someone who’d want to know too.
