Queen of Green: Date Your Closet With The Rules

According to the LA Times and the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans are buying, and discarding, clothes more quickly than ever. The average American throws 54 pounds of clothes and shoes into the trash each year, which adds up to about 9 million tons of wearables sent into the waste stream — a 27% increase in a mere eight years.

Here at Shoestring, we (and our resident Queen of Green Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, founder of EcoStiletto) think it's high time to start considering the fate of our textile waste. As a sustainable style expert, Rachel is always thinking of chic ways to save the planet, and this month, read her three tips for Dating Your Closet inspired by The Rules, so you can create a happy and healthy relationship with the clothes you've already got at home.

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Our grandmothers always said, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." As consumers, we have to realize that there are few ways (outside of clothing swaps) that we can get a new outfit cheap without involving some type of material that's sure to harm the environment and its inhabitants — primarily in the form of the labor used to manufacture it.

Once we get past "disposable fashion" or "fast fashion," it's possible to see the value of investing in beautiful clothing made to last from sustainable fabrics. One piece that lasts a lifetime is worth saving up for. (Grandma said that, too.)

However; that doesn't mean we have to wear things that are out of style. It simply means being more conscious of what we buy, and working with what we've already got.

To expand on the "date your closet" concept, we went to the experts: The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right, the wildly successful self-help-meets-dating book by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider. Sure, the book's gotten heavy flak for being retro and anti-feminist (and recommending a rather mercenary view of romance), but as this best-selling tome has everyone from Oprah to Beyonce on its bandwagon, we thought it might be fun to interpret its ideas for dating our closets instead of dating men.

Here are my "date your closet" rules, inspired by three of EcoStiletto's favorites from The Rules' Top 10.

Rule #1: Be A Creature Unlike Any Other.
This is the best vote of confidence for shopping your closet that we've found yet. How can you be unique when you're wearing the latest trends — that is, clothing that everyone else and her mother is sporting this season? All those seasonal fashion stories you read in magazines are recycled anyway: Think high-waisted sailor pants are a new concept? Check spring issues from 1964 and 1987. Stand out from the pack by wearing-and re-wearing-timeless, classic looks that look good on you, and forget about "what's in this season."

Rule #8: Close The Deal. Do Not Date For More Than 2 Years.
We think this is pretty ridiculous when it comes to people. One-size-fits-all has never made sense to our romantic trajectory, but when it comes to your closet, it works. If something hasn't been worn in two years — meaning you've gone through eight full seasons without giving it a whirl — chances are you're never going to wear it again.

That doesn't mean you have to toss your clothing: upcycle it instead! Take that cocktail dress you're hiding in the back of your closet because you don't like the way it fits? Turn it into a skirt or a shirt. Jeans too long? Crop them into capris. When you rework something you already have, you give it new life. And if you do have to scrap clothing, sell or donate it to a consignment shop or thrift store, or find a clothing swap nearby. Even really-trashed-but-soft pieces can go to animal shelters to cuddle lonely dogs instead of being sent to the landfill!

Rule #9: Buyer Beware: Don't End Up With Mr. Wrong.
Let's face it: every ecoista has to shop outside her closet. But the next time you go shopping, add a question to those that we usually ask ourselves before purchasing, such as "Do I like it?", "Can I afford it?", and "Does it look good on me?" The final question should be, "Is it sustainable?" Or, more specifically, whether or not its manufacturing process had the least possible impact on the environment. If you can say yes to all four, buy away! If not, give yourself some time to think about it. Because you wouldn't want to cheat on your closet, right?

Think chic and eco-friendly style is a stretch for a Shoestring budget? Not if it's free! Each week, Rachel gives away over $250 of sustainable swag to the subscribers of her fabulous EcoStiletto newsletter (not to mention the monthly giveaways of shoes, shoes, shoes!). So, sign up for EcoStiletto now, and tell your Gumshoe friends: Your odds for winning may get worse, but your eco-chic karma will be way better!

Story: Copyright 2010, Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff & Shoestring, LLC. Image: iStock.