Sustainability
Are you trying to lower your carbon footprint? We are too! Here are some ways that Reware Vintage is working to help make the world a little greener.
Let's be real... Corporations are the main cause of climate change, and those companies need to be making changes to make a much bigger impact. That said, we think that even the small steps we take as people who care about this planet give us a sense of empowerment in ourselves and can encourage others too.
Why shop vintage?
Shopping used versus new (especially if "new" means fast fashion) is a great way to lower your footprint, and even more so when you shop used locally. By shopping vintage you:
- Reduce waste by keeping old clothes out of the waste stream
- Reduce water waste made by producing new cotton
- Reduce oil used in making new synthetic fibers and in transporting new clothing to stores (many times from across the world)
- Do not contribute to the exploitation of labor forces used in fast fashion
In-Store Sustainability Practices
- We never buy pallets of clothing from far away to stock our store. We do it the old-school and green way! We love keeping things local and circular, so nearly everything we sell is sourced locally at buying appointments right here in the store (you'd be amazed what Metro Detroiters have been hanging onto for 20+ years!). Call or DM us if you'd like to set an appointment up for yourself.
- We have a commitment to carry clothes in a wide range of sizes and starting at just $10 so there are always clothes accessible to all who want to shop secondhand with us.
- We donate 5% of all profits to 350.org to support their work against climate change
- We support several different climate action groups by donating 100% of sales from our $10 T-shirt rack to further their causes. We pick a different organization each month.
- We host an annual free clothing swap with our friend Rachael Renae
- We work to recycle and compost most of our waste, and generate just one kitchen bag worth of trash most months
- We visit our local high school environmental science club and classes to talk about our sustainability practices and what we can do to influence businesses to take action, and how to do more as consumers as well.
Small Steps, Big Action
- We encourage shoppers to bring their own bag (and many skip the bag altogether)
- If customers do need a bag, ours are compostable and recyclable, from Clear Bags
- We mend clothes that need care, to make sure they last longer for shoppers
- We use eco-friendly laundry detergent and cleaners we purchase through our local refillery, Walking Lightly.
- Our tags are recyclable and our tag fasteners are made from recycled old carpet that otherwise would go in a landfill, from Eco-Tach by Avery Dennison
- We use green cleaners and rags made from unsellable used T-shirts to clean our shop
- We make fire starters from the lint created washing our stock and the recycled toilet paper tubes + paper wrapping used in our bathroom, and give them away for free at our store to anyone who wants them.
- We collect rainwater in a recycled rain barrel by MI Rain Barrell and use it to water our store's plants
Not local to Metro Detroit?
Here's how we do our best to make shopping with us a better choice for you as well.
- All of our shipping packaging are either/both compostable and recyclable! We order our heavy duty paper mailers from No Issue, our kraft paper mailing tape from Sticker Mule, and both our cardboard boxes and compostable cornstarch clear bags from Clear Bags.
- Carbon offsets are bought when you use ShopPay in checkout
Want to talk with us more about what we do? Email us!
