Fast fashion. Trends come in and out of style faster than we can keep up with. We buy clothing that’s trendy, maybe wear it a few times before it goes out of style before buying the latest and greatest. Not many are aware of how this affects our ecosystem.

Junior Ama Allen is passionate about fashion and about saving the environment. Allen has a lot of experience with the connection between fashion and the environment because her parents own an eco friendly clothing shop, Eco Vibe, and  Allen participates in the family business.

Evo Vibe has a mission.

“We keep the planet and people in mind in all that we do,” say Allen’s parents. ”We focus on soft fabrics and products that are ethically produced, jewelry and accessories that are locally made from recycled and natural materials, and we donate one percent of all of our sales to 1% For The Planet to ensure that we are always giving back to environmental causes.” 

“The synthetic fabric in a lot of clothing emits CO2 into our atmosphere,” says Allen. “If we use more eco friendly based fabric and less cotton that would also mean less water intake from places where cotton is grown.”

Allen believes there are many actions can we take to achieve a more mindful fashion community.

“I shop at thrift stores because I can find a lot of unique things that no one else has and I always find trendy things that are in style. It’s also less expensive,” says Allen. “It’s honestly better overall because its good for the environment and it helps reuse items so you’re not just consuming and disposing.”

Allen notes that donating the clothes you don’t wear anymore is another good way of being apart of this “reduce, reuse, recycle” concept.

“You can thrift. You can turn old clothing items into new ones and personalize them and make them trendy,” suggests Allen. “Buy more durable long lasting good quality clothing that’s more practical so it lasts.”

Allen loves to thrift shop, repurpose clothes, and shop smart. She makes it a large part of her life to keep the planet in mind while still expressing her awesome style.