and now for something completely different

As you may or may not know, the "theme" of our wedding was "sustainability". We tried to stay as local and ec0-friendly as possible, including compostable plates and cups and locally made chocolate favors in recycled paper boxes.

Well, here's another take on ec0-friendly: sustainable lingerie!

I'm all for making fabrics of sustainable materials, but please don't go rush out and buy something just because it is made of a material that's more sustainable that what you're wearing now. That just boosts the overall amount of clothes in the world.

How about if, in addition to developing environment friendly fabrics and dyes, we also thought about limiting the amount of clothes/products we buy overall. Ask yourself, Do I really need 10 pairs of jeans? Do I have to have new clothes every season? Can I fix my clothes myself (re-sewing a button, patching a hole, mending a tear) instead of throwing this out and buying something new?

I made a decision last year to keep the quantity of clothes I own roughly the same. That is, if I want to buy something new, consider if it is going to replace another article of clothing that really does need replacing, or, if it is something new, will it add something substantial to my collection? For example, I realize that going into the "real" world, I need to have clothes that are appropriate for interviewing and visiting prospective employers. I did purchase some clothes for my trip to the NIH, but I was careful to choose things that I knew I could mix-match and re-wear. I've already worn everything several times with other outfits (a nice sweater that can dress up or down and a black skirt). I also wore the super-cute pair of black heels that I've owned since my junior year of high school (at least 10 year old now), that I simply took to the cobbler in town to have re-heeled for $12. So, rather than buying a new pair, spending more than I wanted and contributing to the local dump, I get to wear my favorite shoes, and spent only $12!

Yay for being eco-friendly! We just have to remember not to lose the forrest for the very pretty, trees.