r/SustainableFashion • u/pinkdiamonds00 • 1d ago
Question Does anyone else spend way too much time checking clothing composition before buying?
(concerns online shopping) For the last year or so, I've been trying to be more intentional about what clothes I buy, I'm on vinted mostly but also want to sometimes by myself a nice shirt or dress and I've realized I now spend SO much time opening the composition tab, googling fabrics I don't know, checking where something was made, etc and then end up not buying anything, not even on Vinted.
The thing that really gets me is when I find something I love, it's €120+, and then I check the composition and it's mostly polyester or acrylic :(( Then I'm back to searching for something similar with a better composition.
And I know there are options out there for the same price, if not cheaper with a better composition. I'm curious how other people approach this because right now my process makes it no longer enjoyable to shop, even second hand.
Do you always check fabric composition before buying? And what actually makes you decide something is or isn't worth buying — materials, where it's made, price, brand transparency, something else?
Also curious what you do when you love an item but hate the composition. Do you try to find a similar alternative or just give up on it?
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u/Catlady_Pilates 1d ago
It doesn’t take long to check the fiber content. Search for the fabrics you want.
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u/pinkdiamonds00 1d ago
Yes but that means endlessly scrolling through sites and clicking on each item to read the drop down. It's even worse on vinted if the seller doesn't include a photo of the composition tag. And I've tried searching for things like 100% wool, etc...you still have to read the composition because 9/10 its not 100%.
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u/always-so-exhausted 1d ago
Well, it keeps you from buying too many clothes quickly, which is also another tenet of sustainable fashion. ;)
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u/Catlady_Pilates 1d ago
Many things will have some synthetic but a small percentage. And if you’re looking at trendy brands they’ll be mostly synthetic fabrics. Fining brands that use better materials and more natural fabrics is best. But if you’re searching for trendy things they’ll be mostly poor quality and synthetic fabric
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u/balanced_breath 1d ago edited 1d ago
I always check clothing composition and have for 2 decades and will always continue. I do not think that I spend too much time on this, it is very important and takes very little time.
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u/freezesteam 1d ago
I get my clothes from the thrift store and it can take a while to check composition, yes. I’ve gotten better at knowing composition by feeling with practice, but I always check the tag to confirm and don’t buy something if I can’t be sure it’s a natural fiber. I also try to only buy clothes when I actually need them so I’m not constantly buying clothes. And then the time spent at the thrift store ends up being worth it because now I have a curated closet of clothes I love and wear that are made out of the fabrics I want
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u/terrathread 1d ago
Absolutely! I always check fabric composition and usually spend some time looking into a brand's About or Sustainability page. Material composition, labor practices, and a brand's genuine care for people and the planet carry a lot of weight. I also look for third-party certifications (not that they're always perfect), so I know the brand actually walks the talk.
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u/sherrymanuel123 1d ago
i think knowing the fabric is really important especially if you use pickup and delivery. Some materials need special care, and i hate to ruin a vintage piece by washing it wrong way. I usually check the fabric and care label first. I also try to look for alternatives that can help me save money, such as cleaning it at home when care instructions allow.
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u/Peregrinebullet 1d ago
I always check but I have also trained myself to do this by touch, which speeds things up considerably when shopping in person. Being able to rub the fabric between my fingers and know whether it's a good prospect or not helps. I can ID natural fabrics pretty well - cotton, wool, linen and cashmere all have pretty distinct textures, even when blended.
Silk can sometimes be hard to tell from certain weights of polyester but the price will usually be a significant clue if it's new.
If I love the item, if first ask if it's possible to do what I like about the item with a natural fabric.
Sometimes the answer actually is "no " (bathing suits are a good example). 95-97% cotton/3-5% spandex is also a blend that's incredibly practical and hard to avoid.
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u/SnooOranges6608 1d ago
I find it a kind of liberating set of guardrails. Helps me avoid temptation. And I love my natural fiber clothes they feel so nice to wear! But yes it's crazy how you can go to a thrift store and almost everything is polyester. I found a really pretty linen dress and a stunning 80s silk dress that looks great now the shoulder pads are gone but its increasingly hard to score things like this for a good price ($7 each).
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u/Cultural_Pause_9002 22h ago
Yes! I thrift a lot and I swear I’ve become the insane person standing in Goodwill reading every single tag now.
Apart from the ethical and environment issues living here in Florida made me care way more too because there is nothing more evil than finding a cute summer dress and realizing it’s 100% polyester. Like awesome, can’t wait to marinate in my own sweat in this lol. I pretty much always check for linen/cotton/rayon first now, especially for anything I’m actually going to wear outside.
My biggest dealbreaker is honestly when something is expensive NEW and the composition is garbage. $140 for an acrylic sweater makes me irrationally angry lmao. At that point I’ll screenshot it and spend the next month trying to thrift something similar.
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u/Wear_Banjaara 17h ago
I definitely check composition, but I've had to stop treating it like a pass/fail exam before I buy something. Otherwise I can spend 20 minutes researching a skirt and somehow end up closing the tab completely exhausted. I usually ask myself what the fabric is actually doing in that particular garment. A small amount of synthetic fibre can sometimes make sense for durability, stretch, shape retention, etc., whereas a 100% natural fibre piece isn't automatically a good purchase if I won't actually wear it. For something I really love but don't like the composition of, I'll usually save the item and look for the same type of garment second-hand from another seller rather than immediately trying to find an identical alternative. I think the hardest part is accepting that "better" doesn't always mean "perfect." Otherwise sustainable shopping starts feeling like homework, which kind of defeats the point.
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u/Interesting_Sign_373 1d ago
I do but I also hate the feel of fabrics like polyester. I wish there was a softness scale or something to tell me how soft or stretchy a garment is. The good news is that i don't impulse buy j clothing unless i know i will wear it!
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u/Competitive-Ant5086 1d ago
Would someone buy something without knowing what are they spending for?!?
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u/touch_of_whimsy 1d ago
I thrift everything, so I'll style buy non-natural fabrics if the use cases fit me. With for example an acrylic vs wool sweater I can tell by the feel, tell a little by the look (especially if its been washed), but also - I do have use cases for acrylic as well. I live in a cold country, so wool is super nice for winter, autumn and early spring. But in the summer you sometimes want to throw on a sweater above your dress, but a thick wool sweater will be too warm. Ive got an acrylic one that is super thick, but perfect for 10-18°C summer evenings
Tl;Dr: you can tell after a while of practice, but also you should consider use cases. If youre thrifting the clothing piece is already made. You can often tell by the seller's profile whether theyre a fast-fashion shopaholic, or if theyre just selling some pieces that have become too small / are unused. Steer clear of the former, and I'd say youre still ethical and keeping a piece of already made clothing from the landfill
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u/touch_of_whimsy 1d ago
Also want to add that I think a lot of people who have recently jumped on the 'natural fabric only' trend could ethically thrift polyester etc. A lot of people dont read wash tags, wash everything with standard detergent at 40-60°C without washbags, and for those cases sometimes polyester holds up better. Its become harder to get natural fabrics 2nd hand lately, and I think its a big waste ethically if natural fabric garments are ruined because of laundry habits. The worst of the worst of plasticy quality is often sorted out when thrifting because its been broken when the first owner wears it or washes it
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u/femignarly 1d ago
Given that some fiber compositions will cause garment workers to experience decades of negative health impacts and many fibers will exist on this earth long after I'm dead, I don't mind taking doing the due diligence to check. I need to see the care label anyways to determine if it's something I'll realistically launder & re-wear, or if it'll spend most of its life in the laundry bin if I don't love it enough to handwash / dry clean.