Ethical fashion is not cheap.
Nor should it be if ever person involved in the making of your clothes is being paid fairly.
Buying well made clothes and investing in your wardrobe is the best, but often not the cheapest, option. Larger purchases such as shoes and winter clothes can often break the bank at the start.
Besides using credit cards, Afterpay and layby services, there are a few tricks I’ve learnt while building a wardrobe of ethical and sustainable clothes.
They’re super easy to do and guaranteed to save you money!
1. Sign up to newsletters
Most online stores will offer a small discount when you sign up to their newsletter. It’s an easy way to save a little money on your first purchase with them. An added bonus is receiving the newsletters and hearing about sales and subscriber only discounts. So your inbox inbox doesn’t get clogged up with newsletters create a “newsletter” folder to keep them in one easy to access place.
2. Check for sales
I love a good sale, (who doesn’t!?) It’s the best way to find that dress you’ve been coveting at a bargain price. and you’ll find a lot of the major stores will have a set time of year when they have sales. An important rule to remember, if it wasn’t on sale would you still want it?
3. Use rental sites
Why buy when you can borrow? There are so many incredible dress rental sites here in Australia, allowing you to wear borrow and return at a fraction of the original cost. That expensive special occasion outfit will no longer languish at the back of your closet after being worn once. Good for your wallet and the environment.
4. Buy out of season
I love that in Australia we are in opposite seasons to the US and Europe. It means when an overseas fashion season ends and they start to discount all their remnant stock, we can pick up a fantastic bargain for the season we are coming into. Stores such as People Tree, Everlane and Reformation are offering huge discounts on their summer ranges, just in time for our warmer months.
5. Join member programs
Not everyone offers them but when they do, join asap! Store memberships can mean anything from points accumulation to put toward your next purchase, birthday rewards and discounts and member only exclusive sales, often with big savings to be had. Brands love to reward loyalty so find your faves and stick with them!
Do you have any tips to share?
