If you take a closer look at the conversation surrounding the global warming crisis, you’ll see that more people are working to find sustainable ways to live and take care of the earth. More people are trading gas-powered cars for electric-powered cars. There are many who’ve banished plastic from their homes in exchange for glass. However, one of the most wasteful industries on the planet is the fashion industry. As heads of fashion houses are working to create more sustainable clothing options, consider these four ways you can shop for more responsibly sourced clothing.

1. Consider the Number of Wears

If you’re in the habit of purchasing clothing items that you know you’ll only wear once or twice, it’s time to quit that habit. Start to curate a closet that’s filled with a lot of staple pieces that you can wear again and again. Turtlenecks and cardigans will always be in style during the colder months. T-shirts and classic blue jeans will always work. If you can’t wear a garment for more than thirty times, it’s not a wise purchase.

2. Look at the Cleaning Process

The dry cleaning process is actually very toxic for the environment. It’s not eco-friendly in the least bit. When you’re purchasing clothing, take a look at the label to see how the manufacturer recommends cleaning the garment. If the cleaning process doesn’t involve dry cleaning, you’ll naturally decrease your carbon footprint.

3. Examine the Fabric

More companies are becoming extremely creative with the way they create and source their fabrics. Pay attention to different brands that are committed to incorporating recycled fabrics into their garments. Brands like bionicyarn have found ways to create interesting offerings such as marine and coastal recovered plastic material yarn. It is also good to consider how durable the garment will be. Shoes are difficult to shop for because cheap shoes may be appealing at the moment. However, they often wear out more quickly and need to be replaced frequently. This contributes to your waste and may even cost you more money in the long run.

4. Purchased Pre-Owned Clothing

If you know that you’re only going to wear a formal dress or suit once or twice, rent it from a clothing rental site. You can also opt to resell it on a reselling site once you’re finished wearing it so that someone else can enjoy it. Always offer hand-me-downs to younger siblings, relatives, or friends. It can be a fun idea to create a clothing swap group where you get together once a month and exchange clothes that you no longer want but are still in good condition. This way you get new clothes for free and may even be able to try out different styles that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

There is a conscious shift you’ll have to make in order to embrace this type of sustainable lifestyle. However, Mother Earth is only yours to borrow. In order to make sure it’s passed down to the next generation with care, it’s really important to take good care of it by doing your part. If every person did their part to help protect the environment with their clothing purchases, it’d make a world of a difference in the long run.