6 Tips On How To Care For and Nourish Clothing Items

How to care for and nourish clothing items to increase longevity? 

In order to change the way we think about fashion and embrace a more sustainable way of shopping, we need to focus on the garment care that starts at home. After all, it is us who need to start seeing clothes as pieces for life, rather than styles to wear just a handful of times. Here are six simple tips to start extending the life cycle of your clothes, because small conscious changes can help to reduce negative impacts on the environment.

There are a variety of ways we can extend the life cycle of our clothing items.
Here are 6 top tips:

1. Always follow the wash care instructions.
Take note of the wash care instructions on the labels of your garments – they are there for a reason. Avoid damaging styles through incorrect cleaning and take care of them properly to ensure your investment pieces last longer.

2. Clean your clothes when necessary.
Even cleaning your clothes with gentle products can strip them of their natural oils and softness, as well as damaging the colour of the fabric. Skip the weekly wash & make use of refreshing products instead when you can. The tangent’s garment care range is perfect for refreshing garments without damaging them.

3. Store clothing away properly.
In order to extend the life cycle aim to store the clothing items in folded piles and away from direct sunlight. Many people don’t realise that hanging garments can distort their silhouettes and shapes. If you do need to hang clothing, be sure to use the right kind of hangers. Meanwhile footwear needs to be properly cared for too. Keep your favourite pairs of shoes looking their best with boot shapers, shoe shapers and inserts so that they maintain their form.

4. Skip the tumble dryer.
The heat of a dryer not only shrinks the fabrics of clothes but it can also ruin their fibers over time. Use a liquid fabric softener when washing and then hang your clothes or lay them flat to dry. Your clothes will last longer and you’ll also keep energy costs down.

5. Try treat any stains straight away.
Unfortunately as we all know, set-in stains can ruin clothing. Carry a stain removing pen or stick for stain treatment on-the-go, or be sure to treat any stains as soon as you can.

6. Avoid wearing too much perfume.
Many people don’t realize that the ingredients in perfume, hairspray and other beauty products can actually damage your clothes. Trying using your fragrances and other products before getting dressed to avoid any build-up on your clothing.

There are a variety of ways to decrease inconsistency between sustainability and fashion. It has been discovered that consumers would tend to keep and use adaptable garments for a long period of time and purchase fewer new products, when they were able to utilize the same garments in different ways, which suggests a mix of slow fashion, material innovation and multi-functional garment designs are a positive way forward.

Slow fashion encompasses slow production schedules, alongside fair wage, consumption and extending the lifespan of clothing itself. This strongly indicates that ‘slow fashion’ is certainly a positive way forward as the movement focuses on valuing and knowing the product will create a significant experience for its consumers. Moreover, slow fashion also encourages individuals to purchase high-quality items less often and the specific garments could be seen as an investment.

By: Keanna Armstrong for Mindless Academy