National Secondhand Wardrobe Day

Today is National Secondhand Wardrobe Day, and I'm excited to celebrate!

Since I embarked on a personal journey back in 2017 to make a sustainable wardrobe a higher priority, I've found that I've really made a big impact on my shopping habits and my closet. I don't impulse shop at conventional stores online or locally, choosing to shop from either a sustainable/organic/ethical brand or a secondhand store.

Sometimes, I won't even realize it until I'm halfway through my day, but I'll look down and realize every element of an outfit is secondhand in some way. That's what happened with this outfit from earlier in the week!


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Touring the UL Lafayette Solar PART Lab

After I wrote a few weeks back about the UL Office of Sustainability hosting a day dedicated to panels on sustainability efforts, I decided to sign up to attend the final session of the day. It focused on the construction and usage of UL Lafayette's Solar PART Lab and included a field trip to the lab.



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Sustainable Beach Style

Summer break may be winding down, but the summer heat is definitely still in the air. My little family and I got a short break from the Louisiana heat and humidity and made our way to the beach with some friends for the Fourth of July weekend.

I was more than ready for our vacation, since it was my first trip out of town in a year and since having a baby. It was also a great excuse, I mean reason, to invest in a new one-piece swimsuit (since my other one-piece was a hand-me-down maternity suit) and a hat to protect myself from the sun.


This spring, I started doing some browsing to find companies committed to sustainability, and ended up choosing a suit from Summersalt and a hat from Conner Hats.

(Side note, the three minutes that I stopped to take these photos is probably the most I sat still and relaxed the entire vacation! Squirmy nine-month-olds are so much fun on the beach!)


I'd been seeing Summersalt a lot on social media, and because they have a commitment to sustainability, I decided to check them out. Their suits are made with 78% recycled polyamide, which is crafted from recycled plastics, post-consumer materials and nylon waste, like old fishing nets.

In addition, I've heard great things about the quality and fit of the suits. While trying to pick out a suit and color pattern, I discovered that Summersalt offers a discovery pack. You're able to choose 4 suit options to try on at home and send back the ones you don't want to keep. I was able to try on different styles and sizes at once without having to return and reorder suits, which saved time, money and resources.

I ended up going for the Swan Dive style. I love that even after having a baby, I still feel stylish and confident on the beach and the few times we've gone to the pool since then. This is my cool mom one-piece! I also love that the suit colors match the Gulf water almost perfectly.


I'm not traditionally a hat person, but after borrowing one for our beach trip last summer, I realized I wanted to have one on hand for these sunny days. 

I discovered Conner Hats through a search for sustainable hats, and I'm a happy customer. The company has a warehouse powered by solar energy, they don't use any single-use plastic in their packaging, and they use recycled and organic materials for their hats.  


I have learned through my hat hunting that my head is on the smaller end. I did order one hat in a small/medium that was way too big, so I spent awhile looking through the selection of hats that come in a small. I finally chose this beach straw fedora and it fits perfect. 

It worked out very well for our beach trip and it might actually make me more of a hat person in general!

Although I don't love this ridiculously hot summer weather, I am at least getting a chance to enjoy my summer swimsuit and hat for a little while longer before putting them away until next year!

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