We are all connected to Earth and all is one. That’s why taking care of our planet is also taking care of ourselves. But how do you ease into sustainability? The easiest no-sweat way would be to extend the life of your workout wear. Keeping things out of the landfill and on your body is one very sustainable choice that’s more powerful than you think. How powerful is this one act of keeping your chic yoga outfit out of the landfill?
Well, it would reduce 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (the gas that’s causing global warming). That’s because the whole business of producing clothes is very resource intensive. From growing the materials like cotton, dyeing and manufacturing; it uses up a lot of water, produces a lot of wastewater and emits a staggering amount of carbon dioxide (the greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere). The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gas than the entire economies of France, Germany and the UK combined!
That’s why buying good quality active wear and extending its life instead of buying new ones is a very powerful act that has a big impact on sustainability.
So here are 3 simple hacks to make your yoga gear last a few hundred sessions and still look chic.
1. Keep your work out wear smelling fresh forever (Yes, even after an intense hot yoga session).
We all have that one favourite workout wear that’s seen a thousand sweat-busting yoga sessions. Like that sports bra that’s been with you since your very first Mountain Pose to your very first headstand. This much loved and much abused work-out wear already has a funky smell even when you’ve just put it on, even before your yoga session has started. The repeated sweat and body odor soaks through the shirt and clings on to the fabric; the laundry detergent just mask the smell but never really gets it out.
No need to throw it; just refresh it and get rid of the funky smell forever with an all natural & chemical-free Anti-Funky Smell soak. This powerful soak removes even the toughest body odor and when you’re lucky, it even brightens the faded color of your much beloved and abused yoga wear.
My easy peasy way to do it? After I take off my sweaty (and smelly) gear, I just drop it into the soak and let it sit all day or until it’s time to do the laundry. You can soak it for an hour or overnight. Or the way I do it, I soak it until laundry day rolls around, usually 3 days. Squeeze the solution out of the fabric and launder as usual.
Natural Anti-Funky Smell Soak
30g citric acid
Cold water
Fill a medium sized pail halfway with cold water and add 30g citric acid. Soak your sweaty clothes in the solution.
Citric acid packs a powerful deodorizing punch.
2. Keep your yoga gear looking ageless.
Here’s how that yoga wear stays ageless even if’s a few years old. Wash in cold water. As easy and simple as washing in cold water extends the life of your clothes. That’s because heat damages clothes. And it’s especially disastrous for your yoga gear. Most contain a blend of synthetic materials like Elastane, Lycra, polyester or nylon. And those materials’ number one enemy is high temperature or heat. Repeated washing in hot water setting will accumulate wear and tear on your yoga clothes. Over time, you’ll notice they aren’t as stretchy anymore or the colors look faded; they look old and lifeless.
Who knew something as easy as washing in cold water can add years to your yoga clothes’ life.
3. Keep your active wear looking timelessly chic.
Look yoga chic and spot on while doing your Mermaid pose. Keep the inevitable wear and tear on your workout clothes invisible. Turn your clothes inside out before tossing in the washing machine. This means whatever friction and wear and tear will be on the inside of our yoga wear, while keeping the outside looking fresh and chic.
Doing laundry this way not only keeps that yoga chic vibe, it also gives the best clean to your clothes. The inside of your clothes has contact on your skin, leaving body soils on it. Turning your clothes inside out gives the washing machine full access to the sweat and body oils. This laundry hack gives your clothes the best clean while also taking better care of your clothes.
One energy connects us all. So when we hurt Mother Earth, we also end up hurting ourselves. But we can harness this energy to start healing Mother Earth instead of hurting her. We can all start by embracing simple habits that’s sustainable. We can start with something as easy as taking better care of our clothes and making it last longer instead of buying new.
About the Author
Jean Ong is the founder of EcoLover United, a movement that makes it easier for the everyday folk to live sustainably and in style. She was born in a country with 7,107 islands and spent her weekends during summer vacations on the beach. As far back as she can remember there’s this burning passion for saving Mother Earth. It’s just that she had no clue on how to do this. The spark that started the idea for Ecolover United was when she joined a zero waste lifestyle community.
In 2018, she started a grassroots movement called City Composters United that encouraged and involved her apartment neighbors in composting (300 kilos of waste and counting) and created a community garden in her apartment’s rooftop. Along with this initiative, her goal is to seamlessly marry green living with an eco luxe lifestyle.
Having graduated with a college degree in Business Management major in Marketing, she currently work as a store manager by day, and an Earth Hero at night and on the weekends..
It’s pretty hard to escape this love for Mother Nature when your name literally means forest or grove of trees. Her Chinese name Lin, means forest. I guess her name is prophetic for how she will end up loving the trees, and nature in general.
She believes that: if it’s good for Mother Earth, it’s good for you.
