This woman sews unique clothing from items she finds at thrift stores

Via SWNS

This woman works against fast fashion by sewing one-of-a-kind clothing from items she finds at thrift stores.

Teonie Douglas, 51, upcycles clothing to help reduce the waste and pollution caused by the fast fashion industry.

“It saves a lot of discarded and unused materials, so it’s not going to landfills,” said mom-of-three Teonie.

According to Earth.org, in America, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste ends up in landfills yearly.

“That’s equivalent to approximately 81.5 pounds per person per year and around 2,150 pieces per second countrywide,” the site reads.

Teonie, from Sacramento, Calif., says her upcycled items also reintroduce quality and originality to clothing.

She sews together multiple pieces she finds or adds additional fabrics to create items she describes as “a throwback to yesterday, a time when there were no rules.”

“Fast fashion is definitely lacking in uniqueness, everything kind of looks the same,” she said.

“The originality of today is subpar compared to how it used to be 30, 40 years ago. The quality of the garments was a lot better, they lasted longer.

“You’re putting quality back into clothing garments because it’s handmade by a person.”

Teonie has always loved sewing and thrift stores and decided two years ago to combine the two.

“I have been sewing probably since I was born, my mother is an avid sewer and I picked it up from her,” she said.

“I’ve always been an avid thrift store customer and could always find really nice items there.

“I got the idea instead of buying new items, revamping the items I find at the thrift store and turning them into something new and different.”

This woman works against fast fashion by sewing one-of-a-kind clothing from items she finds at thrift stores. (Naya Douglas via SWNS)

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She sells the items on her website, byteonie.com, from around $45 to $250 and says although one-of-one, and slow fashion, may be more costly, it works out better in the end.

“If you think about it on a cost-effective level, you’re getting a garment that’s going to last you for years as opposed to a lower-cost item that you’re only going to wear one or two times and then have to discard,” she said.

“You’re getting long-term items.”

Teonie says she thinks upcycling is the future of fashion.

“I think it’s going to be big especially, one-of-one items,” she said.

“People are getting away from buying mass-produced items. Everything that’s fast fashion has been negative.

“People are more appreciative of one-of-one items, especially upcycled or recycled.”