What is the most sustainable clothing?
We’ve all heard the trope that the most sustainable clothes are the ones already in your wardrobe.
Let's break it down.
Sustainable, as a word, has a two fold definition: able to be maintained at a certain rate or able to be defended.
That's mildly interesting.
It explains the burgeoning sustainability obsession of the bourgeoisie; they need something to defend.
The word sustain is from the Latin 'sustinere' which means to hold up, to bear, to suffer, to endure.
Now that's quite interesting.
That might explain the corporate penchant for the term sustainability.
Though used in the spirit of greenwashing and deception, it is, in fact, the most suitable phrase for the long suffering endurance of every being involved in big box supply chains.
Words never lie.
People do.
In terms of clothing, I personally like to borrow Zach Bush's definitions of sustainable farming as 'staying where we are' and regenerative farming as 'improving our situation'. But more on this later.
For the purpose of this article, clothing refers to everyday garments for the digital peasant.
(Side note: do you recognise the …
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Aoife Long's Newsletter is now at spiritandluxury.com to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.