Baltimore Shop Focused On Sustainability Breathes New Life Into Vintage Clothing
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Helping the environment could be as simple as changing up your fashion habits and choices, and sustainable fashion is growing in Baltimore.
Sustainability is key to minimizing the impact of our buying decisions. Illicit Rag Vintage, a Baltimore-based store, understands that.
The cost of being trendy is far more than the price tag on that piece of clothing you've been eyeing. We often hear about how climate change is affecting us, but now eco-friendly consumers are turning to thrifting instead of shopping at traditional stores.
Danyell Williams owns and operates the store. He repurposes vintage clothes, making old things new.
Williams said his customers "still want to be trendy, they still want to give a cool look, but they just want their transaction to count towards something."
Customers want to express themselves without contributing to the cycle of fast fashion.
"I think people want unique items (but) we've been in a really big fast fashion cycle trend for several decades now," said Janae, a customer. "And not only are people seeing that it's not great for the environment, it's not great for people who work in these factories."
Experts from the United Nations Environment Programme estimate the fashion industry is responsible for nearly 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, but there are ways to reduce the impact your wardrobe has on the environment.
"If we can repurpose or reuse, whether it be clothing, whether it be furniture or anything that we can preserve in any way, we all make our carbon footprint a little bit less," Williams said.
Janae said she's grateful for places like this in the city to support, and she also loves the opportunity it also provides to express their creativity.
"I love being able to come here and see a suit jacket or a skirt and be like 'oh my momma would have worn that,'" Janae said. "And now I get to remix it, I get to wear it, I get to have my own story with it and make new stories.
