Tips for shopping ethically
April 17, 2020
Sustainable shopping is a lifestyle that makes it easier for consumers to buy products for easy and cheap, while keeping the environment safe. Many corporations create their products unethically, so shopping sustainably becomes difficult. This lifestyle usually includes shoppers buying from resale and products that are animal cruelty free.
In 2018 more than 40% of designer brands switched to faux fur and leather and used fabrics that are good for the environment according to the New York Times at Paris Fashion Week. These brands include Gucci, because of sustainable shopping’s popularity in recent years. Cosmetic brands, like Fenty Beauty and NYX, have stopped testing on animals and instead started doing tests that are safe for animals, or switching to other testing subjects.
Leaping Bunny, a nonprofit organization created to stop animal testing in the fashion and veaity industry, said in 2016: “we are glad brands are becoming more aware with what they put into products and hopefully soon they’ll stop using animal products and testing in the near future, this will keep our environment clean and healthy.”
Other cosmetic brands have based their ideology off of sustainable shopping; MILK Makeup and Glossier are companies that prioritize this type of branding. MILK Makeup is completely paraben free, vegan and animal cruelty free and is Leaping Bunny certified,
CEO of Glossier Emily Weiss in New York Times Magazine said “we try to make women and anyone who uses our products feel safe, whether it be what they’re applying it onto their face or the ingredients in the product. Glossier believes in sustainability, creating something that is not only good for us but good for animals and plants.”
Companies are making the switch to a sustainable lifestyle and consumers at home can do the same. Thrifting and reselling have also become popular in Fenton, as multiple consignment and thrift shops are available for consumers. One of these shops is called “My Sister and Me Consignment,” which is owned by Robin Wolf.
“We upcycle clothes and sell them again for cheap.” Wolf said. “It prevents people from throwing it out in garbage bags into a dump. Our furniture options are the same, we buy them from people who are getting rid of it or will throw it out, we clean it up and sell it.”
Places like Goodwill and Salvation Army do the same to used clothes and furniture. By buying cheap and nice-looking secondhand items, instead of buying in bulk and from sweatshops, dodging the possibility of wasting time and money by buying something that won’t last and can be from somewhere unreliable is easy. Purchasing what’s needed versus what’s wanted can help prevent destruction of clothes in the long run.
Animal cruelty products are less popular because of sustainable shoppings morals, more brands are jumping onto this lifestyle, Chanel has announced that the company will swich to faux furs in 2021 for sustainability purposes. Thrifting is still a popular way of recycling clothes for benefit, meaning that buying in bulk and from sweatshops have become less popular throughout the year.
