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Let's Talk Trash column: Back-to-school wardrobe

After a summer growth spurt, parents and adolescents may be tempted to splurge on a closet full of new outfits for the school year. In reality, many households spend more on back-to-school clothing than school supplies.
Let's Talk Trash
CRAFTY SAVINGS: Learning to fix clothing in otherwise usable condition can save parents with children returning to school from having to spend money on new wardrobe items. Contributed photo

After a summer growth spurt, parents and adolescents may be tempted to splurge on a closet full of new outfits for the school year. In reality, many households spend more on back-to-school clothing than school supplies.

This year, going back to school in style does not have to mean a visit to the mall for cheaply made fast fashion. Other options that can save money are available and can result in a wardrobe of unique outfits.

A waste-free catwalk down the hallowed halls of academia can start with any one of the following:

1. Gather outgrown items and share them with friends or donate them to a thrift store or consignment shop. Out with the old and in with the gently used hand-me-downs.

2. Host a clothing swap, which is a great way to exchange or simply give away perfectly good items someone has grown out of or is tired of wearing. The host will likely end up with a bag full of free clothing in return.

3. Bargains can be found at local thrift stores or consignment and vintage clothing shops. Taking a little more time to find the perfect fit removes the likelihood of being a cardboard cutout of other students whose fashion sense is dictated by the mall.

4. Learn how to repair a zipper, fix a tear or sew on a button so that favourite pair of pants or otherwise new shirt laying at the back of a drawer can still be worn.

5. Upcycle damaged clothing into creative new pieces. Pinterest is full of ideas such as transforming an old sweater into leg warmers or a wool skirt, adding lace to a cardigan for flare or sewing on a patch to add colour to a jacket.

If buying new is a must, go for high-quality items that will last and choose colours that match most other pieces in the student’s wardrobe. Choose natural fabrics and dyes where possible.

Let the first lesson this year be that cutting-edge fashion does not have to cost parents, children or the planet.

Let’s Talk Trash is Powell River Regional District’s waste-management education program.