Some aspects of eco-travel are quite obvious - offset my flights, use public ground transportation as much as possible, be respectful and inquiring of the cultures I'll be exposing myself to - and others are not quite as obvious, like greening my travel wardrobe.
I'm only taking one medium-sized piece of luggage, which will certainly help limit my 'luggage footprint', but it's also much easier than lugging huge suitcases onto buses and trains. It would be hard enough to pack for such a long trip even without eco-restrictions, but I had plenty of time to prepare, and I feel it's the least I can do since my flights will be spluttering huge amounts of emissions into the atmosphere.
Here's a glimpse of my green travel wardrobe - so friends and family, get used to seeing me wearing these same items over and over again in my holiday snaps!
So, what's so sustainable about it? Here are some highlights:
- 2 vintage sundresses
- 3 skirts c/o eBay (rescuing fast fashion from an early death!)
- 3 Bassike organic cotton tees, made in Australia
- 1David Atwell organic cotton tee from Manly Markets
- 1 denim long sleeve button up c/o eBay (more rescued fast fashion!)
- 2 pair of flip flops (1 ancient pair of Havainas, 1 pair of Breo natural rubber thongs, currently unavailable, but check out Fashioning Change for Ethletic thongs)
- 1 pair running/hiking shoes, Brooks Green Silence
- 1 pair flat espadrilles from Fashioning Change
- 1 pair Good Society organic cotton denim jeans
- 1 cotton/bamboo hoodie from Braintree Hemp
- 1 vintage poncho picked up in Melbourne last year
- 1 cardigan I've been loving for nearly a decade
- 1 American Apparel circle scarf
- 1 pair organic Lululemon leggins (no longer available)
- 1 vintage backpack from Dear Gladys
- 1 bikini and wrap, as seen in my green beach fling
I didn't buy all of this new, but everything I did buy new was either eBay, vintage or sustainable fashion. All in all I'm quite pleased with my stylish, sustainable travel wardrobe. We'll see how it all performs!
I'm also leaving some space for bringing some supplies to projects we'll be working on in Tanzania (and for local market shopping, of course!). Thanks to Indigo Bazaar for sharing the organisation Pack For a Purpose - if you have overseas travel planned, hop on this website and see if you can bring any needed supplies to communities in the area.
I still have a couple of weeks before I depart, so this isn't my last post before I go - any packing tips are greatly welcomed!
Love the espadrilles, they are so cute! My travel tip to the countries you are going to would be biodegradable baby wipes. For all those times you may not be able to get to a hot shower. You will get many opportunities to buy from local communities on your travels, you have to leave some space for that very important travel experience. Enjoy. X
ReplyDeleteExcellent tip, Carlie! Thanks for sharing - I'll let you know what I find on my shopping excursions :)
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