Have a Green Summer Closet

It is that time of year again, swapping out the winter for the summer clothes. Why not take the opportunity to green up your closet using this Care2 guide of tips we’ve compiled over the years. Start off with a green closet redux quiz, and move on to learn how to replace moth balls, find a greener dry cleaner, understand active fibers, and more.

• Take our Green Closet Quiz and find out what you can do to make your closet healthier.

• Clear out closet clutter. Follow the rule that you wear 20 percent of your clothes 80 percent of the time, and give away clothes accordingly. While you do so read about the active fibers in the next tip, and remove synthetic fibers.

• Choose active fibers, those that help your body. The fab four active fibers are linen, cotton, silk, wool. In the summer, especially, wearing natural fibers that breathe with your body, ventilate, absorb moisture, and help you maintain your body temperature, are a gift. Cotton is great for general warm weather; linen is ideal very hot weather because it absorbs 20 percent or more of its weight in water; silk also breathes, absorbs moisture and is soft and mildew resistant; and wool is now used by sports teams in the summers because of its remarkable ability to wick away moisture from the body and help to maintain body temperature.

• Pack your sweaters away safely. Moth balls are now known carcinogens. Read about our moth ball alternatives, including lovely herbal sachets.

• Remove the mothball smell from existing clothes by hanging them in the sun whenever possible.

• Remove all clothes from bedroom closets that have been conventionally dry cleaned because the perchloroethylene used to clean the clothes will continue to waft around the room and it is highly neurotoxic. Consider alternative dry cleaners in the future, or learn to hand wash using DIY wet cleaning techniques for wool, silk, and rayon.

• Strict flammability standards have been established for the flammability of children’s sleepwear. Synthetic sleepwear must be flame resistant and to do so they have to be treated with flame-retardant chemicals. The safest choice for children’s sleepwear is snug-fitting, 100 percent cotton sleepwear because it doesn’t have to be treated. Pure wool sleepwear is also exempt from the treatment. Avoid loose-fitting pajamas because they create air spaces that can accelerate flames.

• Choose “free and clear” laundry products and synthetic dryer sheets to avoid synthetic scents wafting through your bedroom. Learn more here.

• When clothes shopping, consider our Easy Greening techniques.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

John S.

4:20PM PDT on Jun 2, 2011

Could do that but my wardrobe is based on 24 years of traveling, everything fits into 2 suitcases. My rule is to only buy when I throw something out.

send a green star

Past Member .

6:37AM PDT on Aug 23, 2010

Great tips. Thank you. I will try and get my closet greener

Cotton Tapestries

Beng Kiat L.

1:48AM PDT on Jun 24, 2010

Thanks

8:29AM PDT on May 29, 2010

Great article & links. Thank you Annie!!

Odin T.

2:05PM PST on Feb 6, 2010

Dry cleaners? What's this? I have never been to a dry cleaners in my life and I certainly never will (at least for my clothes). I don't use mothballs because I hate the smell of them and they also make me itch. Interestings to know that they are a health hazard as I can now discourage others to stop using them too. Mind you, I'm not a great fan of silk either, I hate it and I believe that silk worms suffer in its production, is this true or faux?Thank you for this article, your articles are always informative. Anyway its time to get my trousers out of the wash for drying nows.

Kirsty R.

9:44PM PST on Jan 12, 2010

Thanks for the post :-)

Silvia W.

1:25PM PDT on Jul 19, 2008

Haven't gone to a dry cleaner in over 30 years. I wash using very mild, pure soap. Delicate garments get washed by hand, but wool pants go in the washer on gentle cycle. I like to rinse wool a number of extra times to be sure it's really clean, usually 5 rinses. I want to see clear water that last time!

I always enjoy your articles.
Thanks!
~ Sil in Corea

Aeleysia O.

5:44PM PDT on Jul 18, 2008

Mothballs are also neuro-toxic and can cause memory loss from prolonged exposure to the fumes!Toss em out!

Kristina C.

11:36AM PDT on Jul 18, 2008

Hi...enjoy your articles. Just wanted to state that although wool is "green" it's not cruelty-free so I won't buy it. When they shear the sheep they often create huge gaping wounds...it's awful. There is a lot of suffering involved in wool.