The Conscious Closet

July 8, 2019
Journalist Cline follows up Overdressed, an investigation into the global impact of fast fashion, with this thoroughly researched blueprint for making sustainable, humane clothing decisions. Cline sets her sights on the apparel industry, which employs nearly a hundred million people around the world at poverty levels and accounts for as much as 8% of global carbon emissions. While the figures are daunting, Cline believes individual consumers have the power to change these worrying trends: “If you want to change the world, there’s no better place to start than with the clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet.” She invites readers to take a closer look at their clothing choices by exploring the working conditions of garment workers and listing the many natural resources that go into each piece. She suggests tips for researching companies and a guide to stores that make lasting, well-made clothing. Much of the advice comes as helpful tips for renting and reselling items, and suggestions on how to make clothes last with smart laundering and mending. A final section, “The Fashion Revolution,” consists of Cline’s activism playbook and a discussion of the fight for living wages in the apparel industry. Melding worrisome facts, intuitive tips, and helpful resources, Cline’s intelligent work provides plenty of tips for making ethical consumer choices.

Starred review from July 1, 2019
Cline (Overdressed, 2012) lays out the facts: The fashion industry accounts for three percent of the global economy, but eight percent of global carbon emissions. Most people wear only 30 percent of the clothing they own. A third of the world's microplastic debris emanates from clothing. Sooner or later, the planet will be choked by discards?it's time to source sustainably and buy/recycle more ethically. Luckily, Cline has a six-step process to help readers do just that. By no means an overnight process, her phases?goodbye, fast fashion; the art of less?and of more; a handbook to sustainable fashion; make it last; and the fashion revolution (which outlines making living wages a reality and other road maps for change)?require a lot of learning, and conscious efforts to curb the excess. The directions, though, are very readable and peppered with information readers will retain. She also includes interviews with executives at Canada Goose and Eileen Fisher, two brands known for their sustainability efforts; a cheat sheet for determining quality; and tips on how to sell re-sale and calculate a garment's CPW (cost per wear). A must-read for all fashion-lovers who care about the state of the planet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)