Sustainable clothing is a hot topic in the fashion industry right now. Making the switch from fast fashion to a more eco-friendly alternative is excellent for the environment, and you’ll notice a considerable difference in quality, comfort, and durability! At the Sassyfras Boutique, we’re masters of how to shop sustainably on a budget. Here are some tips on how to incorporate eco-friendly fashion choices into your wardrobe.

Why is Sustainable Fashion Important?

We love fashion, but there are some unfortunate consequences to fast fashion and unsustainable manufacturing practices. Cheap-quality fashion and international shipping aren’t great for the environment. You can drastically reduce your carbon footprint by choosing more sustainable alternatives. That’s right—you can help protect the earth and look fabulous while doing it!

Here are five ways to make your fashion wardrobe more sustainable and eco-friendly:

Invest in High-Quality Pieces

Do high-quality clothes last longer? The answer is a resounding yes! Hastily manufactured clothing made from poor quality materials won’t last as long. Holes and split seams will develop much more quickly. High-quality fashion is often more budget-friendly than cheap, fast fashion if you consider cost-per-wear because you can wear those pieces for years and years! We recommend looking for versatile, classic pieces that you can dress up or down, or combine with layering pieces throughout different seasons. The more you can wear them, the better the value!

Opt for Natural Materials

Naturally-sourced fashion materials like cotton, linen, and bamboo are super sustainable and great for the environment. After all, they come straight from the plant—and you know we’re all about plants over here! Plus, natural materials are more comfortable, breathable, and easy to clean than synthetic materials. 

We have plenty of plant-based fabrics at Sassyfras—ask one of our in-store style experts to help you curate a collection of eco-friendly clothing to kick off the new year!

Avoid Synthetics

Manufacturing synthetic materials can produce harmful chemical byproducts, and when you wash them, they release tiny amounts of microplastics into our water supply. It might seem like a small problem, but those microplastic levels build up quickly when everyone is washing loads of synthetic fabrics every week! These microplastics harm aquatic wildlife, so by avoiding synthetic fabrics, you’re helping protect the wellbeing of our earth and the animals who live in it. You’ll never have to worry about microplastics coming from natural fabrics! 

Shop Local

When you shop locally instead of ordering online from stores on the other side of the globe, you’re reducing your carbon footprint significantly. This is because international shipping contributes to carbon emissions and pollution. Plus, you get to feel good about supporting independent and often family-owned businesses in your area instead of giant corporations that often have unethical or unsustainable manufacturing practices.

Choose Canadian Manufacturers

Purchasing fashion designed and constructed in Canada will reduce your carbon footprint even more! When you know exactly where your products come from—and that they're ethically-made and sourced—you can feel good about your purchase. Sassyfras has several lines of Canadian-made products and designs made with ethical business practices. 

Have you seen the 2022 fashion collection at Sassyfras Boutique located in Eising Garden Centre? We have one of the best selections of sustainable and eco-friendly clothing in Simcoe, Ontario. Visit us soon to see the hottest picks of the season! Our spring collection will start trickling in soon, so follow us on Instagram to see the latest items as soon as they hit the floor.

With sustainability and conservation becoming a hot topic, many gardeners are asking how to make their landscaping more eco-friendly. While it might not feel like small changes can make a big difference, if each landowner makes an eco-friendly adjustment in their yard and garden, it can have a significant impact! 

Here are five small eco-friendly things you can do to make a large impact:

Turn the Lights Off

Lighting up your garden is a great way to enjoy the foliage at night or make sure you don’t trip on the garden path! However, our poor pollinator insects get exhausted from chasing the lights through the night. The bugs end up overworking themselves, which makes them more susceptible to predators such as birds and bats. Because bugs are so crucial to our ecosystem, reducing the lights in your yard is the most effective way to have eco-friendly landscaping.

By removing garden lights from your landscaping altogether, you can save six bugs a night. That might not seem like much, but if you consider how quickly this could add up if we all turned off outdoor lights at night, that number is astronomical. If you still want lights but want to increase your eco-friendliness, try using lights that only turn on with a motion sensor, or replace the bulbs with yellow LED, which are less attractive to our buzzing friends. 

Conserve Water

There are many ways to conserve water in your yard, but the biggest impact you can make is by reducing your lawn size! Lawns require a lot of water and need mowers to maintain them, which use electricity or gas. By reducing your lawn and letting native vegetation grow or making beds with mulch, you can take your landscaping to a new level of eco-friendliness. 

Of course, rain barrels are a great way to use what the sky gives us. It’s free of city chemical treatment and will save on your bills, too! 

Support Wildlife with Landscaping

By supporting the local wildlife that comes through your yard, you can promote a healthy ecosystem that reaches beyond your property line! Here are some things you can do to create an eco-friendly yard that supports your local wildlife:

• Set up bird feeders.
• Add a bee hotel to your garden, around the flowering plants.
• Build homes for birds and squirrels.
• Provide water sources.
• Grow native plants (see below.)
• Eliminate pesticide use in your landscaping.

With these tips, you’ll create an eco-friendly haven for the local wildlife that roams through your yard! Keep in mind that even one of these steps can make a big impact, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself! 

Plant Native Varieties

There are a lot of invasive species that get planted and take over the local landscape! By planting perennial native species, you can support your local wildlife and help combat invasive species. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to rip up every non-native plant in your landscaping to achieve ultimate eco-friendly-ness, but as you consider what you want to plant this spring, do some research and see what grows regionally! 

Go Organic

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers deliver results but at a very high cost. Pesticides can harm the good bugs and pollinators that contribute to a thriving landscape. Chemical fertilizers can leave your soil toxic and harm the beneficial bacteria and bugs in the ground. Every critter matters, so take a step towards eco-friendly pest control and fertilization to foster a healthy garden and healthy ecosystem. Managing certain bugs requires just a bit of organic soapy water! A little research will go a long way when it comes to pest control. 

Of course, the next step is to spread the word and encourage your friends and neighbours to make small changes towards eco-friendly landscaping as well! If we all do our part, we can make a massive impact on the health and wellness of our environment.  

If you need help with your eco-friendly landscaping in the spring of 2022, visit us today! We’d love to help you take steps towards environmental awareness and action.