I only wash my clothes when they’re visibly soiled/smell or when I’ve sweated in them. Wash in cold water which is better for the environment and for your clothes. And I don’t use the dryer - same logic that it’s way better for the environment and way better for your clothes. My clothes usually last me 10+ years like this, even if they aren’t the best quality to begin with.

If you want to get super technical, when you buy clothes, wherever they’re from, if you get a fabric loupe your can look up close at the yarn twist and weave. If it already looks “fuzzy” and a low yarn twist, that’s not going to last you. The more it’s washed, the more that fabric is going to lose fiber and cause holes or pilling.

Also look at stitch length. The smaller the stitch length, the better survival rate for seams not popping. If a seam is only overlocked together on a woven fabric it’s not as strong as something that’s machine stitched AND overlocked.

If it doesn’t meet expectations I’ll usually send it back.

It’s not really brand specific, but I think it’s important to keep in mind. I thrift all the time, and I’ll tell you things made even ten years ago are usually far superior in construction and textile than what we have now.

What happens is- the lower twist and shorter fiber in fabric, the cheaper and faster the textile production. Likewise, the longer stitch length, the shorter sewing time. These factors are what really make cheap clothing, regardless of what the label says.

And I do agree but don’t always practice it- wash less, on cold, and hang dry to keep your clothes lasting longer. Dryers are especially hard on the fabrics that make up our clothes

I bought my favorite cargo pants one or two pairs at a time, wherever they were on sale until I had 8 pairs. I rotate them so they don't get frequently worn, or excessive wear to any single pair. They're quite a few years old now. These are Dickies, but there are other long wearing pants from places like Carrhart.

Same with Magellan shirts, you can get both brands at Academy Sports.

I buy a lot of clothes from charity shops with a focus on a list of brands I’ve vetted for specific lines of products. But anything I buy as a general rule can’t come from certain countries with ethical and quality violations (China, Vietnam, Singapore)

Start small and build up a list of brands that you can trust that are in your price range. Buying clothes that last isn’t cheap and costs significantly more to manufacture in a country like England, Italy, Japan, the US, etc.

Another point I look at is materials, looking for certain wools, silks, cashmeres, sea island cottons. Wool indicates more durability but looking at where the wool is supplied and what mills it comes from matters a great deal. Italian milled wool or Scottish will generally last far longer than a China milled wool that’s been shipped to Italy and then woven into a sweater or coat there. So you really have to look into a companies supply chain and find out where the textiles are being sourced.

Buttons are a big indicator for me as well. I find generally cheap companies skimp on buttons and use plastics, a company that is making a quality garment is going to be using horn, buffalo leather, shell, MOP. This is by far the quickest way to weed out a bad garment.

I buy my clothes from Iron and Resin out of Ventura. Super durable and they'll replace/repair any article of damaged clothing free of charge.

I try not to buy garments that lean too much into what’s trendy but rather timeless. I.e straight fitting pants, not too slim or baggy. Also I try to stay away from shirts with prints etc. This way I know that I’m less likely to grow tired of my garments and I’ll wear them for longer.

Care is the easy part you have ultimate control over. Tap cold water use with all the things. So many think you have to boil your clothing in hot water. Detergent. If you are doing a normal load, use the recommended amount. Don't be like my wife who Kobes 32 laundry pods into the drum with each load regardless of the clothing or soil amount. Use the shortest cycle and use a front load washer as front loaders clean better (haters will say I'm wrong) and are easier on clothes than an old school agitator toploader. Know that bleach, Oxiclean, Borax, Baking Soda are not required for most things. If you get a legit stain, pretreat and 99% of the time it will come out. Hang to dry or low heat....least invasive drying as you can get.

I use the Consumer Reports best pretreater on all stains. OxiClean MaxForce is the current winner, though this may change one day....in any event, get and use it. I keep the bottle 6 inches from the laundry basket. Remove shirt, spray taco stain, drop in basket. 1 to 14 days later, that stain is loose as shit. I use the Consumer Reports best laundry detergent. Persil ProClean is the current winner, though this may change one day....in any event, get and use it. I was all the things in tap cold and other than wool things, I dry all on low because too lazy to hang dry stuff other than my Darn Tough socks.

Wear is the next thing you have control over and this comes with personal metrics. Underwear, socks, and undershirts are daily change items. Full stop. Everything else, can/should be worn several times to extend the lifespan and reduce waste unless you get a taco stain on it or there is an odor due to *.reasons. And no....the hipster kids who say you can put your jeans in the freezer to kill germs and eliminate odors are wrong. The personal side is knowing your role and brain. Some just can't wear a shirt without washing from a mental perspective. Great. We all have our things in life. Some need to recognize that you can't wear a shirt again after rebuilding a transmission and/or pulling a 12 hour shift at the onion ring factory. Otherwise, you can wear items several times before laundering.

My intro to ethical and high quality came from r/goodyearwelt and r/rawdenim .

Unfortunately, and I'm sure you'll come to find out, that both of those key terms usually come at a trade off. Those being price to how ethical you want to be, quality and how much you want to spend. Etc. Etc.

In terms of ethics, I can buy a pair of Goodyear welt leather boots that are chrome tanned that will last me years and years. However, an animal still had to die, and chrome tanning is terrible for the environment. The other options mean footwear that will not hold up as well, meaning I will need to buy more often, leading to more waste. Or I can buy some veg tanned boots that will no doubt cost a lot more than chrome tanned, but will require more maintenance to keep them from drying and cracking. Well, maybe I can buy a cheaper version, but then the labor practices are questionable, and maybe the quality isn't there and means I will need to repurchase or resole sooner. A lot of the same points can be made for every type of garment. Cotton is notorious for using up a ton of water, and being sourced from non ethical, and potentially contributing to China's ongoing slavery/genocide in Xinjiang. Wool is harvested from sheep, which can be resource intensive, but not as bad as cotton. However, its still coming from an animal that may or may not have been treated ethically. Linen is an interesting fiber, I've yet to hear a lot of negatives about it in terms of resources and ethics, but in my experience, it doesn't hold up as well as cotton or wool. I've heard others disagree on that point tho. And tree fibers lead to deforestation, etc.

Anyway. Best thing you can do is buy used, thrifted, etc. Take thee money out of the big companies that exploit for profit. And mend your garments before purchasing new ones.

In terms of caring for them. Wash infrequently, preferably by hand or on gentle settings, using cold water and mild detergents. Hang dry. That alone will prolong any garment. And mend mend mend. Cheers!

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cold wash or hand wash. hang dry or dry on low if you must. don't buy clothes made of shitty fabrics. stick to natural fabrics. if you're a messy person, buy things that are dark or can be bleached. buy brands that have been around awhile. they're usually still around for a reason (I just know someone is going to say "that's not necessarily true" blah blah blah but it has been for me. lean into a slightly distressed look if you plan to keep things and wear them that long. I happen to think that using tide free and clear has saved my clothes. my mom used all my whole life and that shit didn't clean at...all. lol. I use laundry sanitizer in lieu of fabric softeners or dryer sheets. my clothes last forever.

A good choice for pants, especially if you cycle a lot, is Outlier. They’re a New York based company and using extremely durable fabrics made for technical closing. I’ve got two of their pants and just switch between them for most of the year. After four years (!) of use, they still look like new.

Unfortunately the textile industry is a big offender in modern slavery/human trafficking and bending regulations to pollute the environment. Clothing manufacturing didn't only move overseas for cheaper labor, but because it took the pollution involved outside of western countries and their stricter regulations also.

So it's good to make what you do have last. I wash most clothes in cold water, on the gentle cycle, and my clothes that aren't visibly dirty, I wash them in Woolite, which helps them last longer. One of the most basic things you can learn is mending clothes and basic repairs like sewing on buttons and zippers. You can do most repairs by hand, with just a needle and thread. Darning is a very easy method to repair clothes. I can't afford many of the more ethical and quality brands new, so I thrift a lot. There's a lot of advice on here about thrifting. I shop at benefit and charity thrift stores, not Good Will, so at least my money isn't directly supporting an unethical fast fashion company.

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