When’s the last time you ordered new clothes online, only to realize when they arrived that the brand’s size chart was skewed, that your measurements were inaccurate, or that the fit simply didn’t work for your shape or posture? For most women, this experience happens all too often. To make matters worse, it’s becoming clear that many brands don’t attempt to resell online returns at all—instead, perfectly good, practically-new clothing ends up in landfills in droves due to poor communication around sizing and the general backwards practices of the fast fashion industry.
More women than ever are seeking sustainable shopping methods to avoid participating in wasteful and environmentally harmful fashion practices. One of the best sustainable shopping practices is to opt for made-to-order clothing with accurate sizing.
Waste in the Fashion Industry
Fashion can spark joy and allow for important personal expression and self-confidence. At the same time, popular practices in the fashion industry result in devastating waste and environmental damage. Sadly, the average US consumer throws away 81.5lbs of clothes every year.
Industry standards in the way we handle and fail to reuse material waste needs to change. Much of these necessary changes may need to happen at a national or global level, and it’s easy to feel helpless in the face of such a large problem.
At the same time, fashion waste also comes down to personal choices. 2.6 million tons of returned clothes ended up in landfills in 2020 in the US alone, producing 16 million tons of CO2 emissions—the same amount as 3.5 million cars on the road for a year. Sadly, clothing sizes are so inconsistent that it’s become the norm to order a variety of sizes of each product in the hope that just one will fit, then return the rest.
In light of the amount of waste produced by mass clothing returns, it’s clear that finding true-to-size, custom-made clothes plays an important role in reducing waste.
Sustainable Shopping with Made-To-Order Clothes
Many fast fashion brands mass-produce clothing at a scale that’s profitable to them, but detrimental to the environment. Those brands are more likely to dispose of returns, waste surplus product, and use less responsible production practices–and only 12% of material used for clothing is recycled each year worldwide. Many consumers are turning to a more sustainable shopping approach, doing their best to minimize returns and choose items made from eco-friendly materials.
At MySizeology, we create each order as it comes in, allowing space for made-to-order sizing and custom designs with our creative and unique patterns. We also offer free use of the TrueToForm tool, which allows shoppers to scan their body for an accurate set of measurements and a 3D mockup of their bodies including their posture. TrueToForm helps every shopper make the right sizing and style selections. Plus, we prioritize eco-friendly and recycled materials for many of our unique pieces.
On top of reducing returns and keeping clothing out of landfills, these steps also equate to a more seamless and pleasant shopping experience for you! Buy with confidence that your new clothes will fit and flatter your body, no matter your size and shape.
Explore unique patterns in custom sizes today!