Here at Ecover, we know that creating your own green, eco-friendly closet starts with mindful shopping, but that is not the end of the story. While some fashion choices are better for the planet than others — vintage clothes or thrifted, rather than new – all purchases are pretty much equal once you get them home and have to get them clean which are just as much a part of a green closet as what your clothes are made from.

“Take that cute organic cotton t-shirt,” says Susan Wagner, fashion blogger at Working Closet where ‘Life Meets Style,’ “or fabric options like Hemp and other non-toxic natural materials. Sure, they were grown without harmful pesticides, free of petrochemicals and synthetic ingredients, all good.  But the manufacturing and shipping processes for these items are essentially the same as for their non-organic counterparts, which means you ultimately may not be reducing your carbon footprint as much as you think.  And odds are, you’re paying a lot more for what is essentially just a t-shirt.”

So what you buy is important, but don’t get caught up in trying to buy all-natural clothes only – tocompletely make your closet ecological, buy less and care for it better, the concept behind Green Closet. Hey, it takes the same amount of energy to launder the organic tee as it does to wash and dry the non-organic version so make sure you look into the art of washing your clothes which includes using the washing machine vs. hand washing, using a dryer vs. line drying and of course the kind of laundry products you use to clean your clothes (are they eco- friendly? Do they conduct business sustainably?).  Here’s a secret about greening up your closet: how you launder your clothes matters more than what you buy. Yes, really.

So what do you do to green your closet?  Please tell us on Facebook, your blog or Twitter and use #greencloset so we can track your tips and share them again with all of our readers!

Image via clotheslineorganics.com