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  3. Episode 10.2: Building a sustainable wardrobe

Episode 10.2: Building a sustainable wardrobe: How small choices can help change the world

From sewing basics to smarter shopping, Chelsey Byrd Lewallen shows how to reduce waste and build a lasting wardrobe

Five people stand around a table with piles of fabric.Chelsey Byrd Lewallen teaches a class during U of I’s annual Summer Design Days. 

BY Danae Lenz and Leigh Cooper

Photos by Joe Pallen

September 29, 2025

Chelsey Byrd Lewallen is a senior instructor in the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences at U of I and a sewist who’s rethinking the way we wear, care for and keep our clothes. In this episode, she discusses her new book, “Clothing Alterations and Repairs: Maintaining a Sustainable Wardrobe” and shares how small choices — like repairing instead of replacing and buying better garments from the get-go — can make a big impact on our closets, our wallets and the planet.

Email us at vandaltheory@uidaho.edu.

Have you ever repaired clothing?

Lewallen reminds us that clothing isn’t just fabric on our backs — it’s the product of an intensive, human-driven process that consumes massive resources and often leaves behind staggering waste. Through her teaching, business experience and new book, she encourages people to rethink fast fashion and embrace small but powerful shifts toward sustainability. That could mean buying fewer, better-quality pieces, planning ahead for alterations or mending a favorite garment instead of tossing it. It might also mean choosing natural fibers, swapping clothes with friends or supporting companies committed to ethical labor and environmental responsibility.  

Lewallen stresses that perfection isn’t the goal; the point is to take one step that makes your wardrobe last longer and matter more. Each stitch, patch or careful purchase is an act of respect for the planet and the people who make our clothes. And when enough of us make those small choices, they can add up to lasting change in how we value, wear and care for what we own.

Music

“Young Republicans” by Steve Combs via freemusicarchive.org, not modified. 
“Bicycles And Backpacks” by Michael Dowdle via Amphibious Zoo.  

Chapters

(0:00) Have you ever repaired clothing?
(2:55) Getting to know Chelsey Byrd Lewallen
(3:55) On writing a book
(5:55) Clothing manufacturing 101
(12:44) Building a sustainable wardrobe
(17:44) Clothing repair basics
(20:26) Building a sustainable mindset
(24:32) Pick one small change
(26:18) Final thoughts

Related Topics

Art and DesignFashion and MerchandisingThe Vandal Theory
CALS people and EXT people

Chelsey Lewallen

Senior instructor
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