Ethical Fashion

How to Create a Sustainable Fashion Budget

updated on November 1, 2021 by Angela Hamilton

One of the biggest challenges the sustainable fashion industry faces is price point. For one, if you were able to buy sustainably made clothing for cheap or cheaper than the alternative, the debate would fizzle out. It’s of course necessary for ethical fashion to cost more even to exist, but personal budget comes before all else. We can’t buy sustainable fashion if we can’t afford sustainable fashion, right?

Just becoming conscious of the difference is a big step. You’re probably willing to pay at least a few dollars more per piece, but you still have a bridge to gap. The next step is figuring out your fashion budget. Here’s how to do it.

How to Budget for Sustainable Fashion

Calculate your current/past budget. Rather than making up an arbitrary budget of what you think you can manage, go over the past year’s bank statements in monthly or quarterly increments and quickly add up how much you’ve spent. You may find that it the money is actually there, and you might even save by switching to sustainable. Use it to land on an update to track going forward.

Get used to the general cost differences between specifics. A basic, solid tee may be $10 when mass produced versus $30 sustainably made. You need change your idea about what prices are “normal prices” to pay for a product. That’s how you make purchasing decisions now, right?

Shift your perspective of “enough”. AKA, stop valuing quantity as a basis for your budget. Since you’ll be working within the same budget as before, you’ll likely buy less. Doing so offsets the budget. Also, it doesn’t mean you eliminate all “for fun” items from your budget. Just prioritize. Put a cap on the amount you can spend on items that aren’t a total necessity—like the latest trends or seasonal.

A note about secondhand. I focused on how much you’ll spend on sustainable fashion rather than what you’ll spend it on because you no longer hold quantity as something valuable to your wardrobe. The budget is the same, then, whether you thrift or not. That just affects whether you prefer to use more of what you have on secondhand (perhaps since it’s the most sustainable), and if so you’ll start coming in under.

Plus, people like to discover, to fall in love with trends, put on something new just for them, to connect freshness with fashion too much to give it up entirely.

It all really depends on your that past budget, and how much you are used to spending on clothing. I know a lot of people tend to buy fast fashion because you can get physically more for less. But not everyone. You might be used to buying clothing at similar prices (and thus don’t need to adjust for #2) so you can just choose an average and commit.

Just like fast fashion, there are enough slow fashion brands to find everything from lower end, mass-appeal to higher end/designer brands. It’s just that the lower ends start off a little higher (and generally, much higher quality!) than the others.

What are your sustainable fashion budget questions?

Thrift First, But Bookmark These Sustainable Basics for Backup

updated on March 27, 2025 by Angela Hamilton

Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s near impossible to rely on thrift stores for your entire wardrobe or every shopping need. Some things are more difficult to secure in general, and your luck often just depends on where you are and when. Sometimes I have better luck with sweaters and fun blouses at thrift shops than with basic tanks and tees. I suppose that’s why over the years I’ve invested in new sustainable basics more often than other pieces of clothing (I’ve always had decent luck with dresses, for example). Buying pre-loved will always be more sustainable than purchasing new, but it’s not always practical. So for those times you find yourself ready to invest in new clothing, I wanted to round up a few ethical alternatives for your shopping list.

Perfect Linen Top

Etsy seller Love and Confuse crafts the dreamiest 100% linen apparel, like June Linen Wrap Top. They also offer button ups, crop tops, long sleeves, and more.

Whether it’s a slouchy v-neck like this terracotta top, boxy t-shirt, dress, or even trousers, Linen Fox has tons of ethical basics in a variety of colors and sizes.

Cozy Long-Sleeve

You may have heard of Pact Apparel, as they are known for their earth-friendly wardrobe staples for men, women, baby, and kids. Their Rib crop long sleeve would get endless uses here in the PNW.

Offered in a similar colorway, LA Relaxed’s ribbed funnel top is cozy and light.

High Neck Tank

LA Relaxed also has a mock neck tank (made of organic cotton with 8% Spandex), which has a slight crop and slim fit.

A Relaxed Short Sleeve Tee

Los Angeles ethical fashion brand Mate is all about clean basics, whether it’s tees and tanks, lounge or activewear for adults and kids. BTW, I own several joggers from Mate and love them all, too.

Denim

Amour Vert sources their denim from AGOLDE (like the high waist jeans above) and Citizens of Humanity because they cut to order and let demand drive production.

There’s always RE/DONE, if you have the funds. How I live for a good black skinny jean. Since they began partnering with Levi’s, they’ve diverted 158,000 pairs from landfills by reconstructing vintage denim.

I’m pretty pro at the secondhand denim hunt by now, so out of every pair I own, only two were purchased new and they were from Just Black Denim, via Eco Vibe Apparel. If I remember correctly Just Black does make jeans that contain polyester + rayon. So it’s worth noting that they’re not the most sustainable option. It’s SO hard (and so important) to find a pair of jeans you really love, and their skinnies are it for me and one of the only ethical denim brands under $100, so I’m posting with that caveat.

Looking for more sustainable denim options? Check out our guide to sustainable jeans brands here!

Easy Day Dress

Dreaming of warmer days, thanks to the Olivia Linen Dress from Two Days Off, which comes in three shades.

Handmade linen clothing brand OffOn offers 100% linen dresses in airy feminine cuts (like this tiered linen dress) with the ability to customize size.

The Perfect Crewneck Sweatshirt

I could wear the Ami Sweatshirt in Canyon (or Dusty Rose!), from, Aliya Wanek allll the livelong day. Made and dyed in Oakland, and an organic hemp/cotton blend.

When I originally wrote this post, I linked to a dreamy white crewneck from Amour Vert. They no longer sell it, so I recommend this organic terry raglan sweatshirt from Mate.

Object Apparel is one of my favorite sources for eco friendly, organic basics. They offer handmade unisex sweats, underwear, and other essentials. This cloud crewneck is on my wishlist, and they have several other sweatshirt designs that are just as cute! I also love that they ship plastic-free.

Looking for more sustainable basics? Check out our post on the top eco conscious underwear brands!

Ethically Made Overalls Do Exist, Here’s 9 Worth Saving Your Pennies For

updated on May 1, 2023 by Angela Hamilton

Edit: We wrote this list of ethically made overalls back in 2019 and have updated it a couple times over the years with more finds. I’m so happy to see that this article is still getting some love–that means more and more of you are looking for ethical alternatives to your favorite wardrobe staples. Yay! As you can imagine many of our picks have long since sold out, so I’ve gone ahead and found more to choose from in 2023! I’ll leave the others at the bottom of the post (a few are still available!) so you can still find the image credits, but first, here are 9 new overalls to check out now:

Voyage Overalls by Outerknown $168

Loose Linen Jumpsuit from Not Perfect Linen, $136 / available in literally every color!

Casey Classic Denim Overalls Dark Indigo from Universal Standard $148

Organic Corduroy Dungarees from Lucy & Yak that come in so many incredible hues! $83 / Be sure to check out their full overalls collection for more fabrics and prints, from classic denim to linen and everything in between.

Organic Stretch Dungarees from Baukjen $190

Washed Linen Overall from Not Perfect Linen, $123 / BTW, this shop has pretty limited sizing on their dropdown menu, but in the description you’ll see they also do custom sizing!

The 2001 Full-Length Womens Overall by Uskees from Wolf & Badger

The Miner Overalls in Natural Canvas from Hey Gang (unisex) $295

Indigo Stripe Organic Stretch Overalls from Baukjen $203

From original post: Crafting an ethical closet is about replacing many little would-be purchases with a few quality, responsibly-made, necessities. If you’re the type to breathe versatility into a two-item outfit, you’ll quickly recognize the endless fashion opportunities that the coveted overall provides. Find 9 of our current fave ethically made overalls—in irresistible hues from candy colors to warm earth tones—below.

Lacausa Marcel Overalls from BellJar / $148 / Ethically made in downtown LA

BackBeatCo Twill Overall / $220 / Made of Hemp

Cassidy Overall from Reformation / $178 / Made in LA of recycled cotton

Kern Overall in Honey Canvas from Lykke Wullf / $288 / 100% cotton made in LA

North of West Ariel Upcycled Overalls – Terracotta from Made Trade / $130 (sold out)

Loose linen jumpsuit overall from Not Perfect Linen / Available in 4 colors / $110

Side note: Another favorite linen shop on Etsy is LoveandConfuse.

Francis Overalls in Denim from Arnhem / 97% sustainable cotton / $110

Organic Originals in Clay from Sancho’s / Organic cotton ethically handmade in India / $60

James denim overalls in oat from Boutonne / $218 / Ethically made in San Diego

Ginger Cord Overall from Arnhem / 97% sustainable cotton / $58

Rosie Workwear Overalls from Lykke Wullf / $288 / 100% Deadstock Japanese denim made in LA

Kay, gonna need to establish an overall fund or something.

What to do with a Closet Full of (Non-Ethical) Stuff

updated on June 7, 2023 by Leslie Musser

So you’ve begun learning how to build an ethical closet. You read some articles, watched a documentary, and found out how those ‘fast fashion’ brands are making things so, well, fast. Your wardrobe suddenly looks like a war zone. There’s a touch of regret mixed with sprinklings of guilt. You never would’ve bought that shirt if you knew how it was made. You didn’t even need that dress—you only wore it once.

(Photo by Charity Hestead Kubena)

Well, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re pretty much on par with every person who has recently learned the story behind their clothing. So let’s pull out that strange old adage and say, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” It’s not time for a drastic purge or exotic cleansing ritual.

If you want to move toward an ‘ethical closet’ and buy exclusively from ethical, sustainable sources, start from exactly where you are. Instead of a costly wardrobe overhaul, work within the reality of your budget—recognize that you likely already own much of what you need. Let’s look at it this way:

You’re educated for the future without being judged for the past.

In practical terms, there are a few key steps you can take in moving from closet shame to fashion contentment.

step one: RELAX

Take a breather. Appreciate your possessions. Even if your dream closet suddenly doesn’t look so dreamy anymore, it’s all a gradual process. You have the pleasure and privilege of seeing things through a new lens. The fact that you’re even thinking of making a change for the future is a big deal.

step two: TAKE AN INVENTORY

Pull a Marie Kondo and get everything out in the open. Put all (yes, all) of your clothes on the bed. This helps you to get a real grasp on everything you own, instead of taking it one drawer at a time. Finally, sort everything into three piles: keep, donate/sell, and discard.

step three: MAKE A GAME PLAN

Now that you’ve narrowed down your belongings it’s time to strategize for future purchases. Think of what’s in your drawers and what’s missing. Do you need more work clothes, t-shirts, or jeans? Are you short on accessories or shoes?

Make up your list of wish and need items. And here comes the fun part: shopping as research. Browse your favorite ethical stores and note which pieces fit your list. Sort them however you want—by necessity level or price.

And at the end of this, make a deal with yourself. Figure out how and when you’ll invest in new pieces. Will you start a little piggy bank on the side? Will you only buy if you’ve sold something from your closet first? These small steps will make you appreciate and treasure each item that enters your wardrobe.

Are you working toward a conscious closet? How do you plan to start?