My Eco Festival Fashion Guide

My Eco Festival Guide- That's Practical! | Curiously Conscious

It’s festival season! Summer brings about two major events for me: a summer holiday, and a festival. I love both, but there definitely is a knack to packing the right clothes and items for each of them!

This year, we headed to our planned festival unseasonably early: instead of our usual festival weekender, we decided to enjoy ourselves at All Points East, based in East London. It definitely made packing a lot easier – compared to Green Man, Latitude, or Timber Festival, I only needed to plan ahead for a few hours, and travel locally, rather than get multiple trains to the middle of nowhere!

Nevertheless, it got me thinking about ways to be more eco-friendly at a festival. Interestingly, this is something I’m asked about a lot (I’ve even spoken to BBC News about my eco friendly festival tips alongside Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis!) so I wanted to share all of my tips here, and you can then decide which you want to try…

Festival Fashion: What to Pack & Realistically Wear

So, first I want to provide a different approach to your typical festival fashion guide; there will be no skimpy threadbare denim shorts, no fluoro-coloured tops with tassels and sequins everywhere (!)

A British festival is no Coachella. Despite the crazy hot weather this week (I imagine there’s a lot of baked mud instead of mud slides at Glasto), it’s better to expect rain, mud, wind, and cold. That doesn’t mean I don’t dress up, it just means I also pack a little more practically…

My festival fashion essentials:

  • 1 x t-shirt per day
  • Sweatshirt or hoodie
  • Pair of jeans
  • Pair of shorts
  • Raincoat
  • Set of pyjamas
  • Pair of yoga pants
  • Multiple pairs of hiking socks and knee-length socks
  • Multiple sets of underwear
  • Pair of Wellington boots OR hiking boots

Anything else I bring along is surplus – I might take a fancy top, but it’ll usually end up getting shoved under my jumper as soon as the sun goes down. It’s all about layering. Having tried the vest-top-and-denim-shorts look a few times, I’ve realised despite my appearance, I’m a lot less fun – I get shivery, cold, and I usually call it a night early.

Now, I choose to layer up my socks, yoga pants, and jeans when I’m out. Even when I’m back at the tent, I’ll snuggle into my pyjamas and sweatshirt to stay super warm!

This year, I paired my MUD Jeans* with my new Gung Ho Broccoli Sweatshirt, and chose my vegan VEJA sneakers over wellies or hiking boots – I mean, how muddy could Victoria Park get?

Luckily for me, not too muddy, but it did get rainy! I sheltered from the mist and rain under my gifted Tretorn White Chalk Rainjacket, which is made from 100% recycled polyester. It’s great to see more brands using recycled materials, and as I’ll be wiping down this jacket rather than washing it, I also don’t have to worry about microfibres.

(P.S. If you do like to dress a little more loudly than my taste, Izzy of Muccycloud has a brilliant guide to bright festival clothing that’s ethical as well).

Festival Packing: How to Be More Eco-Friendly

My Eco Guide to Festivals - That's Practical! | Curiously Conscious

The second part of my festival packing guide looks at the stuff I tend to bring with me. I’ve learnt my lesson when it comes to packing light – on my first trip to Green Man, I brought along a suitcase… Big mistake!

Having learnt the hard way, I now try to cut down on what I bring, but also think about the environmental impact of my choices, too. Check out my previous guide to eco festival packing for more!

My Festival Packing Essentials:

  • Sun hat
  • Sunglasses
  • Small backpack*
  • Reusable water bottle*
  • Reusable cutlery set*
  • Reusable coffee cup*
  • Toilet roll
  • Makeup bag and small mirror
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste*

Obviously, you’re going to need to add your food and your tent into that mix. If you’re travelling by public transport or the festival-arranged coach, you’ll also want a hiking rucksack to put everything into. It sounds like a faff, but trust me, being chauffeur-driven onto the campsite is so much easier, you’ll get your festival vibe on sooner, and you’ll save on carbon emissions too.

Feeling Lazy? Get An Eco-Friendly Festival Pack

My Eco Guide to Festivals - That's Practical! | Curiously Conscious

If you can’t be bothered to source everything I’ve listed above, there is a solution! I recently came across Full Circle, an independent business creating eco-friendly festival hygiene packs that contain everything you need when it comes to staying squeaky clean!

Everything included comes in reusable or recyclable packaging – chiefly, aluminium bottles and tins. Plus, Full Circle say they’re working on the plastic lids for future packs.

The whole lot comes in a cotton wash bag too, which makes it super easy to take with you. Included:

  • Anti-perspirant
  • Alcohol hand gel
  • Bamboo toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Dry shampoo
  • No-rinse body wash
  • Plastic-free biodegradable face-wipes
  • Biodegradable face towel
  • Recycled paper toilet roll

And all the products in Full Circle’s packs are waterless, too. Yup, you don’t even need to use the messy festival showers to get clean! Plus, with every purchase, a portion of your money goes to supporting water charities.

Whatever you decide to take with you to your next festival – have a great time, and go with the flow! Being eco is about making small, sustainable steps, while still enjoying yourself!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links (denoted '*') and gifted items (denoted 'gifted').

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