Upcycling: The Next Step in Sustainable Fashion

Photo: Pinterest

If you’ve been trying to find ways to cut back on waste in the environment, you might have heard that there are enough clothes on this planet to clothe the next six generations. Now, if you're like me and this fact is wildly overwhelming, but you're still looking for ways to upgrade your wardrobe, upcycling may be just the thing for you.

In a recent TikTok trend, it has become extremely popular to not only thrift your wardrobe, but also customize the pieces that you find to better suit your personal style, rather than supporting fast fashion. Influencers on this site have been showing off their hauls and how they tailor them into these pieces that look like they came off the shelves from popular brands. No longer do they need to spend hundreds on hauls from stores that churn out products unethically, they can just thrift a tank top for a few dollars and make it look like it came from Hollister or Brandy Melville. 

Tons of videos online have shown people not only tailoring old clothing items, but creating new ones out of fabrics and whatever they can find in these thrift stores. Old buttons and blankets become amazing statement jackets that would be on the market for five times the cost. Even old denim can become new going-out tops and purses that are built to last. The possibilities are endless for people who can see an old garment and turn it into something they can love again. 

Sometimes, a sewing machine isn’t required to upgrade your clothes. Simply dyeing them different colors can be enough to turn them into something you want to wear. There are hundreds of tutorials showcasing how, with just a pair of scissors, you can cut and fashion a new top without any sewing required. There are tons of ways to make your clothes shapeshift and turn into pieces you’ll be wearing for a lifetime. 

Most of the time, you don’t even need to go to the thrift store to find these pieces; they could be sitting in the back of your closet right now. The simple act of upcycling clothes you already own can help create a more sustainable future for generations to come. If you ever find yourself staring at an old T-shirt that you haven’t worn for years, maybe it’s time to pull out that sewing machine and a pair of scissors and see what you can create.

XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market

Editor: Felicity Field