Even before it gets worn once, that new T-shirt you bought is already dirtier than you can imagine. It’s soaked through with toxic waste, factory smog and plastic debris—all of which is likely just a few spin cycles away from an incinerator, or maybe a landfill halfway around the world.

Lauren Cowdery is flicking through the rails of the Cancer Research charity shop in Goole, east Yorkshire. “Too bobbly!” she tuts at a ribbed top. “This skirt is big but it would be easy to take in … ” Cowdery appears to be shopping, but she is merely browsing. She is on a mission not to buy any new clothes, even ones that have recently belonged to someone else.

"Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody's buying far too many clothes." These words, spoken by British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood, are resonating with more and more people these days. As we grow tired of pawing through packed wardrobes and spending money on 'cute' outfits with a less-than-perfect fit and shoddy construction, there is renewed interest in buying better, buying less, and striving for true style over trendiness.

Every year, the average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing, sending massive amounts of textiles to landfills or incinerators and contributing to the emission of hazardous greenhouse gases, which speeds up climate change. There’s no question that the rise of fast fashion and the ever-increasing rate at which consumers are discarding clothes has contributed to fashion’s serious environmental problem.