As an eco-fashion company, Sweet Skins places high value on giving people an option to buy clothing that will have a long-lasting life in their wardrobe and being an example of what sustainable fashion should look like in the rapidly growing world of fast fashion.

As Newsweek reported in September of 2016 in the article ‘Fast Fashion is Creating An Environmental Crisis’,  “Americans are blithely trashing more clothes than ever. In less than 20 years, the volume of clothing Americans toss each year has doubled from 7 million to 14 million tons, or an astounding 80 pounds per person. The EPA estimates that diverting all of those often-toxic trashed textiles into a recycling program would be the environmental equivalent of taking 7.3 million cars and their carbon dioxide emissions off the road.”

Photo Credit: Alan Levine

These statistics and comparisons speak volumes to the environmental impact that fast fashion is having in our lifetime.  One of the biggest issues with cheaply made garments is that they are NOT made to last.  So yes, you are paying less at your initial purchase, but these pieces just end up being throw away garments. They don’t hold up well enough to re-sell and often end up going to the landfills.

I just spoke with a Sweet Skins customer the other day over the telephone from Vermont who has spent a lot of time researching ‘how to have a minimalist wardrobe’. Her wardrobe is now 75% Sweet Skins! One of her biggest praises of our designs was that they last forever. Not only are they produced with ecologically sound fibers and low-impact dyes, but they will last in your rotation of clothing for decades. It’s great to think about what color combinations you can throw together and get basic pieces that can be mixed and matched.

Many of the synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic take hundreds of years if not thousands, to biodegrade. And with how fast they are being worn and tossed, if you can imagine the lasting impact that has on our environment.

Yes, eco-fashion might look a little intimidating with a higher price tag, but the cost will pay for itself with the long-life and quality of the items. The piece of mind that you get with knowing your purchase isn’t contributing to the environmental crisis that fast fashion is creating, well, you can’t put a price tag on that.

Aricha wearing Sweet Skins. Photo Credit: Stella Star Photography