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Trying to be more sustainable in my life is something that I’m passionate about. Over the years, I’ve swapped out parts of my skincare routine so it isn’t so plastic-heavy. I’ve made sustainable swaps for household items to ones made out of wood.
But one thing I’ve struggled with in terms of sustainability in fashion. I absolutely adore the style and expressing myself through clothes. Still, I’ve definitely found it challenging to cut out fast fashion from my life. I’m definitely getting so much better. I shop more second-hand and small businesses than ever before, but I know I could be doing better.
Especially when it came to jeans.
We all know that black jeans are notorious for fading. Whenever this used to happen, I would always just sell them on or donate them to charity and buy a new pair, as I thought that was the right thing to do.
I was wrong.
For some reason, the thought of re-dyeing clothes never crossed my mind. I think it’s because I’m not the best at DIY (I can’t even put IKEA furniture together!). I got it into my head that dyeing clothes would be messy and complicated. I would somehow mess it up – I don’t have any self-confidence when doing these things myself!
I got an idea in my head.
I had a pair of black jeans sitting at the back of my wardrobe, faded and unloved. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give hand dyeing a dry! And for how cheap the dye is, it’s definitely a lot less expensive than buying a whole new pair of jeans.
While I was super nervous about trying it and ruining the jeans, I had absolutely no reason to be as it was so easy! All you need to do is add salt and hot water, and away you go. I used a washing-up bowl for the jeans, but you could easily just use your sink as it didn’t stain or leave any marks. I even got some dye on my wooden countertops, and it immediately wiped off.
And do you know what? The jeans turned out perfectly! They look brand new, and the best part is that they don’t look TOO black, which I was worried about.
Of course, the dye won’t last forever, and I will have to re-dye them again in the distant future. But now I feel so much more confident in re-dyeing that I think it will go even more smoothly next time, and I think the nerves will be gone too!
It can be so hard to live more sustainably. Fast fashion shops never seem to leave you alone, whether it be targeted ads on Facebook or email newsletters that you don’t remember signing up to. The pull of fast fashion is always there. And of course, the cost is a factor. Not everyone can afford to buy from small businesses who, rightfully so, charge more than fast fashion brands. And second hand can always be a bit of a hit or miss.
Re-dyeing is a great way to revamp your clothes if you are on a budget and is definitely something that I am going to do more of in the future. It doesn’t make sense to ever get rid of an old pair and replace them – it seems silly now!
