How to Reduce Your Impact on Earth Overshoot Day

The earlier in the year that Earth Overshoot Day comes around, the faster we’re consuming the natural resources that go beyond the planet’s capacity to regenerate.

And with each year getting earlier, we’re closer to disaster.

Every year it’s getting even more pressing that a big change needs to happen. We need to reduce consumption across every single industry, all over the world.

The good news is, there are a lot of ways we can start to minimise the impact, and a lot of industries are attempting to change.

Through renewable resources, minimising consumption and generally more sustainable practices all round, we can shift towards a more balanced ecological footprint.

The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first introduced by the Global Footprint Network in 2006 - the day landed on August 24th that year. Ever since it’s been steadily getting earlier and earlier.

As we all know, the fashion industry is pretty high when it comes to environmental impact. Especially with the growing number of super-fast-fashion brands making clothes that are worn only once or twice and thrown into landfill; this is an industry that needs to start seeing some serious improvement.

The Fashion Industry's Impact on Earth Overshoot Day

So why does the fashion industry have such an impact on environmental resources?

There are a few notable contributors. How clothes are made, used and disposed of all make an impact.

Carbon Emissions

The fashion industry emits a lot of greenhouse gases, around 10% of global carbon emissions. This mostly comes from manufacture, transportation all over the world, and the disposal of the clothes that no one wants any more.

Water Usage

Making clothes uses a lot of water. Cotton farming, fabric dyeing and washing - a lot of freshwater is used. According to the World Bank, it contributes up to 20% of global water pollution.

Waste

Fast fashion produces a lot of waste, and a lot of that ends up in our household bins, with a lot of the clothes being non-recyclable and either incinerated or in landfill.

Resource Usage

To make new clothes, we usually need new materials, like cotton or polyester. These use up valuable resources. That’s why clothes made from recycled or upcycled materials are a better choice.

Damage to the Environment

Fashion production also harms our soil, contributes to deforestation and chemical pollution.

As you can see, there’s a lot of room for improvement. The business model of fast fashion says it all - the buying and disposal of clothes and accessories is so quick that the waste is mounting up.

How You Can Slow Down Earth Overshoot Day

We can all do our part to slow down the rate of consumption. Here are a few ways that you can take action right now.

Shop Pre-Loved

An easy way to stop contributing to the fast fashion cycle is to shop pre-loved. Even if you’re buying brands that have high consumption rates, buying them pre-loved instead of new allows them to have a second life. Each pre-loved swap saves one new thing from being consumed.

You can shop our latest pre-loved drop here

Donate or Recycle

When you’re finished wearing your clothes, you need to figure out the best way to get rid of them, without harming the planet. Oftentimes the clothes that get donated to charity shops end up in landfill, putting unnecessary stress on the environment.

Our takeback scheme makes it easy for you to do the right thing with your old stuff - we’ll find the best way to rehome, reuse or responsibly recycle them so that the resources are put to the best use - you don’t even need to worry about it.

Pick Quality over Quantity

The longer you keep your clothes and wear them, the better. So choosing timeless, durable pieces over bad quality fast fashion means that they’ll have the best chance of sticking around for the long term.

Eat Your Leftovers

If we cut food waste in half, we could move the date of Earth Overshoot day back by 13 days. At home, you can contribute by joining a local food sharing network like a Community Fridge Network, freezing leftovers or donating to your local foodbank.

Stop Using Single Use Plastics

Invest in some re-usable containers and a water bottle if you haven’t already, and you can make a big impact on the Earth. Reusing the single-use plastic packaging you already have is also a way to make impact (we know, it’s very hard to avoid completely). This slows down the overwhelming amount of plastic that’s entering into our land and waterways.

Switch to an Electric Vehicle (Or Get on Your Bike!)

Everything from scooters to cars now has an electric counterpart, and making the switch will massively reduce your impact. They’re more efficient, and can even use green electricity instead of wasting our precious fossil fuels. Right now, only 2.6% of cars are electric, so there’s definitely room to improve!

Go Meatless - At Least Sometimes

We’re not telling you to go totally vegan, but switching out the meat one or two days a week is another good way to help. Beef in particular needs a huge amount of resources to produce, so swapping it to a plant-based alternative on occasion could quickly add up to being an impactful long term solution.

How We’re Trying to Make the Change

Here at Reskinned, we’re trying our best to support brands to manage their waste, and help shoppers like you to have access to as many great pre-loved options as possible, so it’s just as easy and fun to shop second hand as it is to buy from your favourite brands new.

With the clothes we can’t rehome (because they’re stained, or damaged beyond repair) we partner with designers and students to create upcycled designs that use the old clothes to make something new. This keeps them out of landfill, and on bodies for as long as possible.

And for the rest, we find the best way to recycle them, so that the resources are maximised and new resources don’t need to be used up.

Our goal is to divert as many clothes as possible from landfill, keeping them in the wardrobes of the people who will love them the most.

It’s clear that Earth Overshoot Day is no joke. But the choices that we make can go a long way towards minimising our impact.

Want to get involved in creating a more sustainable fashion future?

Shop pre-loved from your favourite brands here, or send us your old clothes via our takeback scheme and we’ll give you a reward voucher to spend at one of your favourite brands.