5 Books to Read on Sustainable Fashion

When starting on your sustainable fashion journey, there are many excellent resources that can fast track your knowledge so you know how to shop and who to trust. Here's a handful of books to get you started OR gift to your loved one. ​

There's a lot to consider when you begin understanding more about your impact on people and planet when shopping. These 5 books break down the impact cheap fashion has on the planet, help you extend the life of clothing in your current wardrobe, and even give you an inside peek into the most innovative solutions coming out of fashion to improve the impact it has on people and planet.

5 Sustainable Fashion Books to Read to Get You Started

1 | To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion is Making Us Sick and How We Can Fight Back
Alden Wicker is an excellent investigative journalist who isn't afraid to question accepted truths in sustainable fashion and has even debunked some big ones over the years. *Ever heard that fashion is 2nd largest polluting industry in the world? Yeah, there's no basis for that. In her first book, Alden takes on the well hidden world of chemicals in our clothes and how they are affecting our health.

2 | Loved Clothes Last: How the Joy of Rewearing and Repairing Your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act
My favorite advice to give anyone getting started on their conscious shopping journey is to learn how to extend the life of their existing wardrobe. Mending is sadly a lost skill today. The co-founder of the Fashion Revolution movement Orsola de Castro, takes on this task with ease and it's a great guide to get you started. 

3 | Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second Hand Clothes
Only about 10-30% of clothing donations are actually sold in second hand stores. The rest find their way across the world to markets in developing nations and finally their nearby landfill.  It was hard to imagine until I was sitting at a cafe in Guatemala and watched a big truck filled with out old clothing drive right past my window. My mouth fell open. Take a journey with Andrew Brooks on where your clothes go after you say goodbye to them at Goodwill. 

4 | Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion
Also an excellent sustainable fashion podcast, Clare Press delivers an excellent book on how we went from haute couture to fast fashion and the impact that has had on the garment workers and the planet. 

5 | Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes
It's not all bad news. In addition to the impact our current fashion system is having on people and planet, bestselling journalist Dana Thomas unveils the innovators pushing the industry forward with better textiles, technology, and thought and what we can expect next.

There are many books to continue your education so stay tuned as we feature more in the future. For now, let us know how you loved these on our Instagram @thr3efold. Ready to start shopping now? Now what to spot so you don't fall for greenwashing traps. Download our FREE GUIDE on the 5 Red Flags to Look Out For When Shopping Sustainably. 

Download Now