Sustainability

Vintage clothing is at the intersection of fashion, history, and sustainability. It’s at this intersection that my love for vintage clothing lives. I don’t think it’s any secret what a negative impact today’s fashion industry is having on our planet not to mention the abundance of Human rights issues. Needless to say, major changes and oversight are needed to get the Fashion Industry anywhere near even a semblance of truly eco conscious. I can’t take on the Fashion Industry by myself, but what I can do is ensure the clothing that is already here stays around for as long as possible to minimize its impact on our planet and I can be sustainable in my business practices. Here are some ways Cicada Moon Vintage is doing just that:

Packing materials

I most often use polymailers for shipping. I do try to use them in a way that would allow the receiver to reuse the polymailer whenever possible but sometimes they get damaged in transit and are no longer fit for shipping. One suggestion, and something I do personally, is to keep the polymailer and reuse it as inner packaging if only to provide a layer of waterproof protection for an item.

Once a polymailer has been thoroughly worn out, it can be recycled in most places where one would recycle plastic grocery bags. Please note, shipping labels must be removed before recycling. If they can’t be peeled off, please cut the label off before recycling the rest of the bag.

To find out where you can recycle your polymailers and other plastic baggies, please go to: https://bagandfilmrecycling.org/

When a polymailer is not appropriate for a packing a particular item, I reuse boxes and packing materials from shipments I have received in the past. To this day I have never purchased bubble wrap, air bubbles, packing peanuts, or packing paper (other than tissue paper which is purchased new). If you receive any of these packing materials from me, I hope you will reuse also!

There are a few changes I would still like to make and probably other changes I could make that I haven’t even thought of yet. In the future, I would like to switch to fully compostable polymailers; recyclable is nice but we all know not every piece of recyclable material is actually recycled. Once I run out of my current stash of packing tape, I would like to switch to a more ecofriendly paper tape. If you have any recommendations for other ways Cicada Moon Vintage can cut down on waste or otherwise become more ecofriendly, I’d love to hear them!

Did you know that sustainability can also work for your bank account?

Prolonging the life of your clothing is not only good for the earth, but it can also help to put money back into your clothing budget. How, you may ask? Well, the longer an item is in wearable condition, the longer it can be worn without needing to be replaced. Moreover, today it is so easy to resell vintage items that are no longer getting worn! Not only will you be doing the vintage community a favor by giving us a chance at owning that one of a kind piece, but you will also put money back into your pocket that then allows you to buy other vintage pieces.

For more information on prolonging the life of your vintage clothing, please see the Caring for Vintage page and if you would like advice on selling pieces from your personal collection, please don’t hesitate to reach out!