The environmental footprint of our clothing is substantial. Americans throw away 68 pounds of clothes on average each year, and we only buy 10 pounds of recycled clothes annually.

The materials used to make our attire are often environmentally toxic and require significant amounts of energy and water during the manufacturing process. If you are going to buy new clothes, why not buy those made out of sustainable materials? There are now companies that sell gear made out of crops that require less pesticides and water, such as:

• Sustainable cotton
• Hemp
• Bamboo 

Of course, buying recycled clothes has an even smaller environmental footprint. The 12 to 15 percent of people who shopped at consignment and thrift stores in 2006 saved 2.5 billion pounds of clothes from re-entering the waste stream. You can find great buys (bulk lots) of vintage clothes from us at www.raghouse.com.