Have you ever counted the number of pieces in your wardrobe or kept the track of the items going in and out of your closet?
I found the experience eye-opening. Understanding the data of our closets can set the foundation for being more mindful with our closets and our shopping patterns.
I was originally inspired to formally count the number of pieces in my closet during the Or Foundation’s “I can count, can you?” challenge. With this initiative, individuals are encouraged to share the number of items in their closets and then ask 3 brands: how many pieces do you produce each year?
Overproduction and overconsumption are among the biggest issues facing fashion sustainability — from emissions to waste colonialism — and yet we don’t even have an exact number of how many garments are produced each year. Production volumes is a data point that every brand already knows, but very few disclose it!
So I joined in on the challenge for fashion advocacy, but also left with a sense of clarity with my own closet. And now I’m a bit proponent of this exercise for anyone wanting to take a more slow fashion approach. As they say, numbers don’t lie. (If they’re accurate, of course.)
How to Track Your Clothes
Here was my simple process. This took me about 30 minutes in total, so grab yourself a cup of tea, put on some fun music and let’s get started!
Step one: get a clear view of all your clothes
For example, if you have some seasonal clothes in a storage bin, take the bin out for this exercise. Also don’t forget about any clothes in your hamper. You don’t need to take every garment out, but just have them handy to count.
Step two: have somewhere to track your clothes
You can simply use your phone’s notes app, or you can use my free closet tracker template with the categories and sub-categories already sorted out for you.
Step three: count your clothes, category by category
You can be as granular or as general as you’d like for this exercise. So maybe you want to just count “sweaters” or perhaps you want to count “lightweight sweaters”, “heavyweight sweaters”, and “sweater vests” in separate categories.
I like to layer my sweaters, so I found it helpful to sort it out into subcategories. Ideally I want more lightweight sweaters to layer underneath my heavyweight sweaters, since I’d have to wash the under layer more often.
Step four: total it up!
My closet tracker automatically adds up the total of garments from each individual category, but you also of course just do a simple adding exercise if you used your notes app.
How Many Clothes “Should” We Have?
After doing this exercise, I found that I have 190 garments in total if I count my activewear and coats (but not including my pajamas or underwear).
Maybe you have more than that or or maybe you have fewer than that.
Either way, you might be wondering: what is a high number or low number? How many garments “should” we expect to have in our closets?
What is the average number?
It’s difficult to find true answers to this type of question, because most averages are calculated based on self-reported surveys. And we don’t know for sure if respondents are actually counting or just guesstimating. Unscientific survey numbers range from 103 to 148 garments.
For the sake of this exercise, we’ll move forward with that and say that the number of garments I have is slightly above average. I certainly am not buying a ton of new garments per year, but I do hold onto my clothes a long time. In 2024, I only welcomed in 6 new pieces. (Though transparently, I also added about 15 secondhand pieces in total from friends & family and a clothing swap.)
What is a “sufficient” number?
Hot or Cool Institute released a report, asserting that based on their data, a “sufficient” wardrobe consists of:
- 74 garments in a 2-season country (about 20 outfits)
- 85 garments in a 4-season country.
It was a bit confronting to see that the number of clothes in my closet is deemed double the “sufficient” amount.
That said, I do think that number is somewhat personal to our lifestyles and environments — I wear 4 layers on top at once if I’m going outside in the middle of winter here, for example! — and I certainly don’t think we should be dumping or donating our clothes just because we have more than what is deemed “sufficient”.
After all, what happens to our donated clothes is not always pretty.
That said, the decision fatigue is real when getting dressed in the morning amidst a closet of too many clothes.
Here are some questions to ask if you’re debating whether the number of items in your closet is right for you:
- How many items in your closet have you not worn at all in the last year?
- When you’re getting dressed each day, do you feel overwhelmed by your closet?
- Do all your clothes fit in your closet and/or dresser or are you tight on space?
Your answers to this question don’t necessarily mean you need to go on a decluttering spree, but they could be a sign that a pause would be helpful to reassess. (Here are my tips for doing a “low-buy” fashion challenge.)
The Benefits of Closet Tracking
There are a lot of reasons to track the clothes (and footwear & accessories) in your closet — here are a few of the benefits I experienced from closet tracking.
A renewed sense of appreciation of your closet
It’s so easy to think that we don’t have “enough” when we’re surrounded by overconsumption culture, but this exercise can be quite humbling!
The practice of actually sifting through every drawer and hanger showed me just how much I actually have. It also reminded me of garments I had once loved that had fallen to the wayside!
Some of these garments I still love and now have challenged myself to wear this next month. And others, I’m excited to resell to give someone else the opportunity to love them as much as I did.
Learn which categories you overbuy (or maybe underbuy)
Once you have a count of how many items you own in each category, you can quickly see if your closet is balanced.
This is going to be quite personal and I stay away from anyone who tells me that I should have this number of trousers and this number of button-up shirts, and so on. Everyone’s lifestyle and personal style is different!
Do you need a lot of trousers or skirts for work? Or do you work from home and wear loungewear most of the time? When you go out, do you like dressing up or do you generally like to stick to jeans and a tee? These will inform how many items you want in each category.
I’ve found that I love to wear thin secondhand wool turtlenecks in winter — they help me embody one of my style words “warm” quite literally while still looking feminine (another one of my style words).
It can inform your “do not buy” vs. “want to buy” lists
We can tend to make assumptions about our wardrobes from time to time, but having data is the best way to get an accurate picture.
When I did my closet tracking exercise, it was clear that I had more than enough formal dresses, considering the rarity of occasions I actually have to wear said dresses.
These are definitely going on my “do not buy” list and I’ll stick to borrowing from friends or renting when the occasion does arise!
However, I found that I don’t have enough jeans that I actually enjoy wearing. I own just a couple of pairs that actually suit me. It’s time to resell my skinny jeans — not because they’re in or out of style (I can never keep track anyway) but simply because I dislike wearing them! And instead I’m putting “straight-leg denim” on my “want to buy” list.
It reminds you of every single piece you have
Before going through the process of closet tracking, I felt bored with my closet. After going through each item one by one, though, I was reminded of so many past gems that I had been overlooking.
I put these items to the front (you also can hang these items on a separate rack if you have one) and challenged myself to style them in the next week.
All in all, closet tracking was admittedly a bit of an upfront effort, but it will be a great resource to turn to again and again. It will help me get an accurate assessment of my closet and plan future purchases with more thought and care.
Want to try it yourself? Use my closet tracker template:
The post Why Closet Tracking Can Be Such a Powerful Tool to Build a Mindful Wardrobe appeared first on .
Why Closet Tracking Can Be Such a Powerful Tool to Build a Mindful Wardrobe
Green Living
Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action
Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.
The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.
Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:
- Finding a Northwest Passage to the Sea
- Turning the Tide—How Land and Water Shape Our Climate Future
- Learning from Captain Scoresby’s Ten-gallon Fir-Cask
- Earth Savvy?
- Let the Ground Keep Falling Rainwater
- The Sultans of Swag Versus Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now
- Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
- Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube
Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.
The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/
Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!
Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.
[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]
Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!
1. Christy Dawn
Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.
Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.
The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.
Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles
Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000
Size Range: XS – XL
2. Pure Magnolia
Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.
The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics
Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD
Size Range: 0 – 28
3. Lost in Paris
Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.
Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made
Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options
For More Slow Fashion Content:
4. Wear Your Love
Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.
There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made
Price Range: $680 – $1,700
Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements
5. Larimeloom
Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.
Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes
Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€
Size Range: XS – XL
6. Sister Organics
Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.
Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model
Price Range: £125 – £390
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing
7. Indiebride London
Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.
The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made
Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700
Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)
More Resources For Your Eco Wedding:
10 Secondhand Wedding Dress Sites for the Eco Bride
7 Ethical Lab-Grown Diamond Engagement and Wedding Rings
17 Brands with Conscious Dresses (great options for bridesmaid dresses in here!)
The post 7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
Get organized in style with the beautiful sustainable dressers, wardrobes, and armoires from these furniture companies using responsibly-sourced FSC-Certified wood or upcycled wood.
Note that this guide includes affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to make a purchase through these links.
What Makes A Dresser Sustainable?
As with anything in sustainability, there are various approaches that can make something “sustainable”.
Secondhand
With over 12 million tons (or 24 billion pounds) of furniture getting wasted each year in the United States alone, it’s definitely a great idea to look used when possible!
Secondhand not only helps divert furniture from the landfill, but reduces the need to extract new materials, whether that’s metal, wood, cotton, or increasingly, petroleum for synthetic fabrics and plastic.
Here’s where to look for secondhand dressers:
- Garage sales and estate sales (check EstateSales.net!)
- Facebook Marketplace
- OfferUp
- AptDeco
Responsibly Sourced Wood
Most storage furniture, like dressers, are made from wood (or engineered wood). While wood is a natural material, deforestation is a significant driver of climate change.
So, look for domestic or certified sustainably-sourced wood when purchasing wooden furniture. The largest most common certification is FSC, which stands for Forest Stewardship Council.
Even better is if you can find furniture made from reclaimed wood! This is basically upcycled wood that is being repurposed. This reclaimed wood can come from old barns, ships, factories, warehouses, or even wine barrels.
Non-Toxic Finishes
Unfortunately, many wood finishes contain harmful petroleum- and chemical-based solvents which can emit VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. While the toxicity is most severe during application and does reduce with time, the chemicals can build up in your home, so you may feel most comfortable minimizing risk of VOCs.
Why does this matter? Well, the EPA reports that indoor air can be 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air — largely due to what we bring into our homes, from furniture to household cleaners.
Look for low-VOC finishes, water-based finishes, or natural oil finishes like linseed oil.
Where to Find Sustainably Made Dressers
I’ve done the grunt work for you and curated furniture brands with sustainable dressers, armoires, and wardrobes below!
1. Urban Natural
Highlights: Sustainably-Sourced Woods,
Price Range: $1,245 – $9,000+
For a one-stop shop for sustainable storage furniture, look no further than Urban Natural. The retailer has a stunning selection of timeless sustainable dressers (including non-toxic dressers for nurseries) made with responsibly sourced wood and several with non-toxic finishes too.
Urban Natural’s workshop partners use materials like solid oak, cherry, maple, and walnut — and many of the brands prioritize local sourcing as well.
2. Avocado
Highlights: Reclaimed or FSC-Certified Wood, GREENGUARD Gold Certified, Zero VOC Finish
Price Range: $1,939 – $3,999
Avocado’s sustainable dressers are made in Los Angeles in their own FSC-certified woodshop. Beautifully designed with a timeless mid-century modern or Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic, Avocado’s dressers are also built to last. Each dresser is made with either responsibly sourced FSC-Certified wood or reclaimed wood. Most of the company’s non-toxic bedroom furniture is also finished with a non-toxic zero-VOC finish to you can sleep easy.
3. Thuma
Highlights: Upcycled Solid Wood, GREENGUARD Gold Certified, Modular
Price Range: $1,165 – $3,495
Designed for maximum functionality and versatility, Thuma’s sustainable dressers give you endless options. Configure a couple drawers for a nightstand and add on more drawers vertically or horizontally for a full dresser that can fit any space.
The modular setup may be especially useful for families with evolving needs — you can add on more drawers if your needs grow or separate a large dresser into two smaller ones.
4. Medley
Highlights: Non-Toxic, USA Made
Price Range: $4,136
Medley’s sustainable dressers are handmade to order in California. The wide dresser pictured here comes in maple or walnut sourced domestically in the US.
The tops and sides are solid hardwood and FSC-certified, low-VOC CARB 2 compliant hardwood plywood is used in the rest of the dresser. The piece is finished with non-toxic natural beeswax.
5. MasayaCo
Highlights: FSC-Certified Reforested Wood, 1.2 Million Trees Planted
Price Range: $2,295 – $2,395
MasayaCo is committed to responsible sourcing for all of their sustainable storage furniture. Each FSC-Certified piece is made to order by skilled artisans in Nicaragua from 100% solid teak wood that comes from their own reforestation projects. Even more impressive, the company leaves 40% of these projects completely untouched to thrive on its own.
Their stunning credenzas could easily be used as dressers, too.
6. West Elm Sustainably Sourced Collection
Highlights: Non-Toxic and Responsibly-Sourced Options
Price Range: $879 – $2499
West Elm is a large retailer with options for more eco-friendly dressers. Among their selection, you can curate by filters such as GREENGUARD Gold Certified, crafted in Fair Trade Certified facilities, made from responsibly-sourced wood, and/or Contract Grade (i.e. high quality + durable).
7. Crate & Barrel FSC-Certified (Honorable Mention)
Price Range: $899 – $2,699
While Crate & Barrel does not have as many sustainability efforts as other large retailers like West Elm, the company has a vast selection of FSC-certified wood storage furniture, including dressers, chests, and full wardrobes or armoires.
You’ll find an array of woods and finishes as well, from weathered rustic natural wood to dark espresso-finished wood.
More Guides Like This:
21 Best Places to Find Sustainable Furniture
8 Gorgeous Sustainable Tables to Gather Around
Best Eco-Friendly and Non-Toxic Sofas to Relax In
The post 7 Sustainable Dressers and Armoires to Store it All Away in Style (2026) appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
7 Sustainable Dressers and Armoires to Store it All Away in Style (2026)
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