Slow fashion isn’t always easy. It certainly hasn’t been the easiest of journeys for me, a previous self-proclaimed shopaholic. We’re constantly inundated with advertisements for new products; our social feeds are full of influencers wearing the latest trends; and we’re constantly told, directly or indirectly, that we need to keep up in order to be worthy. And once shopping becomes more of a habit than a need, it’s really hard to break out of that cycle.
The two main things I personally struggle with when it comes to slow fashion are: 1) reducing my overall shopping habits and consumption, especially impulse purchases; and 2) knowing with brands or stores are okay to shop from and which are maybe not so aligned with my own values. There’s so much noise and information out there to pay attention to – but thankfully, I’ve come across a few apps that have really helped support me in my slow fashion journey. So if you’ve found yourself in the same boat, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, I’m going to share the top five slow fashion apps that I use on a consistent basis. Let’s jump into it!
1. Good On You
This one is more of a website (I’m not sure if they also have an app), but it’s extremely useful when it comes to sussing out which brands to buy from and which to steer clear of. Good On You is a website focused on sustainable fashion, but they also include other product categories such as beauty. The main thing they offer is a brand directory which provides ratings for a massive list of companies, and it’s growing all the time. Ratings are based on three criteria: planet, people, and animals. Then an overall score is given which represents just how sustainable and ethical the given brand is. It makes it really easy to tell at a glance whether a company is one you actually want to be supporting with your wallet or not.
Which is great, because it can be really hard to know whether a brand actually is sustainable and ethical or if they’re just greenwashing. I think we all know about the biggest fast fashion offenders who you really shouldn’t be purchasing from if you care about the environment at all (no need to name them here). But there are a lot of other companies that will say they’re sustainable, and then when you actually look into it, they actually aren’t really doing all that great. For example, they don’t trace their full supply chain, or they use a lot of synthetic materials or chemicals in their production process.
Good On You does all of the legwork for you, so you don’t have to go digging for all of that information yourself. Because if a company isn’t really that sustainable or ethical, you can bet they’re not going to just have that listed in big bold font on their website – they’re going to hide it as well as they possibly (and legally) can. So it’s great to have a trusted, unbiased third party that you can go to for information when you’re deciding where to shop. It will also suggest similar brands to one you look up that have better ratings, so if you’re looking for a specific product that does better on those three criteria, you might be able to find something similar through their website.
2. Poshmark
Poshmark is my number 1 app for shopping secondhand. Of course, thrifting locally in person is the best option and it’s my go-to for secondhand shopping, but Poshmark is great if you’re looking for something specific, or maybe you don’t have access to many local thrift shops. There are a lot of secondhand apps out there like Vinted, Depop, etc. I think Poshmark does have pretty high selling fees in comparison, but I just have had the best experience both buying and selling on there, so it’s the main one that I use. They take care of all the shipping, and their huge user base means it’s both easy to get your items sold as well as find what you’re looking for.
Normally if there’s something I am looking for, I’ll go on Poshmark and see if someone has it listed for sale it or is maybe selling something similar that could work just as well for me. Plus, you can usually get it at around half of what it would cost you to buy it new depending on the condition it’s in. So it’s a great way to be more budget-friendly with your purchases.
However, it’s not just shopping that I use Poshmark for – I actually use it more for selling. Decluttering my closet can be tough in terms of letting things go that I still like but just don’t need anymore or don’t get much wear out of. Selling them takes some of that sting away because at least I’m making a bit of money off of it and recouping the costs of purchasing it originally. Through Poshmark, I can sell something I’m not wearing to someone who wants it and hopefully will get more use out of it.
It also keeps items from just being donated. Donating is great, but so many clothes are getting donated all the time that thrift stores are overwhelmed. They also don’t always end up getting sold, in which case they can actually end up getting shipped overseas and creating huge landfills or disrupting local economies. So it’s actually better to find another way to re-home your items such as selling, trading, upcycling, repurposing, etc. And that leads me to the third app on my list, which is…
3. Lucky Sweater
Lucky Sweater is a slow fashion trading app that’s sort of like a virtual clothing swap. Instead of selling and purchasing, you list your items for trade and you can swap pieces with people all around the world. (They recently introduced a selling option as well, but it’s limited to just one day a week so the focus is still mainly on trading.) It’s a great way to extend the life of your pieces and keep things circular.
So far I’ve had a great experience with this app. Not only has it built a strong community of like-minded slow fashion enthusiasts, but the focus on sustainable brands makes it a great way to discover ones that you haven’t heard of before. They have other focused communities as well, like vintage and outdoor gear. I use the me-made category a lot for items that I’ve made myself that I no longer wear, so I can trade them away for someone else to enjoy.
The only downside I’ve experienced so far is that in order to successfully trade, you need to match with someone. So if you want something from them, you also have to have something available for trade that they want, and it doesn’t always work out. On the plus side, when you do manage to get a trade it doesn’t cost you anything except the cost of shipping. You also get to declutter something from your own closet that you didn’t need or want anymore, so it’s a win-win.
4. Stylebook
I absolutely love, love, LOVE Stylebook. If I could only keep one app out of this entire list, it might be this one. I say might because I also really love the other ones – but this app is just so great; I’ve had it for years and I probably use it the most.
Basically, it’s a closet organization app. So you upload photos of all of the clothing and accessories you own, and then you can use it to create outfits, keep track of how many times you wear your clothes, get insights into stats like cost per wear, etc. There are a ton of ways to use this app, but I mostly use it to keep track of what I’m wearing on a daily basis, which then helps me understand what I get the most wear out of and what pieces I maybe don’t need anymore and can list on Poshmark or Lucky Sweater. I also use it to make packing lists for when I go on vacation, and to create my seasonal wardrobe edits which I post here on my blog. That’s where I essentially create a capsule wardrobe from a subset of pieces in my overall wardrobe and find new outfit inspiration to help me get more wear out of what I already own. I feel like this process really helps me keep things slow and fresh, and reminds me of what I have in my closet and all of the different outfits I can create which keeps me from buying anything new.
The only downside I can see to this app is it’s a lot of work to get it set up because you need to take good photos of all your pieces and upload them. But once it’s done, you don’t have to do it again and the benefits are honestly so worth it. To make it easier, you can also search up really similar pieces online and upload photos that way. I’ve found this takes less time, and looks more high-quality and professional than taking my own photos.
5. Pinterest
Last but not least, Pinterest is my favourite app for finding outfit inspiration. If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, it’s just basically a big online idea hub where you can get inspiration for anything from home decor to cooking to fashion. I typically don’t use Pinterest as a way to shop or to find new clothes that I want to buy, but more for inspiration of how to wear the clothes that I already have. A lot of times I’ll see an outfit on Pinterest and I might not have those exact pieces in my closet, but I have something similar, whether it’s in a slightly different colour or material or shape, so I can still recreate it. It helps me come up with new ways to wear what I already have that I might not have thought of on my own, which keeps my wardrobe feeling new and fresh season after season.
What I love about Pinterest is how organized you can get with it. You can create boards for seasons, or maybe different occasions like work style or outfit inspiration for an upcoming trip. But maybe the best feature is its hidden algorithm which serves up ideas to you based on what you’ve already pinned. I’ve found that they are really accurate with what pins they present to me, which makes it so easy to find things that I like instead of having to dig for them. For that reason, I find this the easiest platform to use for my purposes aside from other apps like Instagram.
I will say that sometimes it can be a bit of a double-edged sword, because I’ll come across ideas of things that I maybe don’t have already and it makes me want them. But one other way that I use Pinterest is keeping a wish list of items that I want to keep on my radar, so that I can think about them and really consider if I actually need them or not. Sometimes I’ll end up getting something off my list, but I usually won’t purchase anything unless it’s already on my list. More often than not, if it’s been on my list for a few weeks or months and I revisit it, it’s been long enough that I feel like I’m not really into it anymore and I can remove it. So in that way, it really helps stop me from impulse shopping as well.
So those are my top five slow fashion apps! I hope you enjoyed this article and that you maybe learned about a new platform or a different way of using one. If there’s an app or website that’s been helpful to you on your slow fashion journey and wasn’t listed here, leave it in the comments below so we can all check it out. As always, thanks for reading!
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