Make a green start with these new year’s resolutions for 2025

The new year is in sight and it is time to leave old habits behind and embrace new, more sustainable habits. How about buying more second-hand clothes, wearing the clothes you already have in your closet more often, learning to make/​repair your own clothes or creating a more conscious and greener routine? Read on and get inspired by our greener and more conscious new year’s resolutions for 2025.

Green new year’s resolution:

This is the new year’s resolution of Lynn, the founder of COSH! Digital wardrobe app, an app to digitize your wardrobe and endlessly put outfits together without much effort. Because there is a huge chance that you have clothes in your wardrobe that you’ve forgotten or hardly ever wear. Visualize your wardrobe and discover the potential of the clothes you already own! Discover the 5 advantages of a digital wardrobe here.

Do you want to add high-quality and timeless basics to your wardrobe, to create a capsule wardrobe? Then it is smart to invest in high-quality basic clothing items that you can wear every season, year after year. Such as a sophisticated white blouse, a high-quality T‑shirt, everyday trousers, a high-quality winter coat or a good pair of jeans.

When you have digitized your wardrobe, you’ll also have a better overview of which items of clothing you would like to keep and which you would rather not. But hold on, the clothes that no longer fit you may be very suitable for someone else! You can sell these clothes via various platforms, such as online or in second-hand clothing stores. Discover the best ways to buy and sell second-hand clothes here.

Green new year’s resolution:

You may already know that polyester clothing is harmful to the environment, as it is made from fossil fuels such as petroleum. But did you also know that polyester is harmful to your health? An American study shows that PET plastic is hazardous to your health, as it contains many toxic substances that impact both the environment and your health. Unfortunately, some of these negative consequences also apply to recycled polyester, although it is often labelled as a so-called ​‘more sustainable’ alternative. Enough reasons to ban polyester from your wardrobe in the new year!

Tip: Do you have polyester clothing in your wardrobe that is more difficult to replace with other materials, such as sportswear or outdoor clothing? Use a Guppyfriend laundry bag when washing polyester. This laundry bag catches microplastics that would otherwise end up in the waste water via the washing machine and eventually in rivers and oceans. You can buy the Guppyfriend laundry bag at Supergoods in Mechelen and Antwerp, Blabloom in Genk, Kudzu in Bruges, Sophie Stone in Utrecht and in the Restrived webshop.

Green new year’s resolution:

What is more fun than having a new year’s resolution that is not only better for the world, but also allows you to use your creativity? Take the initiative in 2025 to make your own clothes on the sewing machine or by knitting. There are many places in the Netherlands and Belgium to learn this, for example during a workshop or course.

Take a look at modern sewing ateliers such as De Steek in Amsterdam or De Naaierij in The Hague, where you can’t only follow workshops or courses, but also rent your own workplace with sewing machines. Super handy if you don’t have a sewing machine yourself! Also take a look at the sewing workshops and courses at De Modestraat and Studio Koekoek in Amsterdam.

Would you like to learn how to knit? There are also several great places to learn the art of knitting. In 2025, take a knitting workshop or masterclass at The Knitwit Stable in Amsterdam, Janne Landuyt in Beringen, Sjette in Lo-Reninge or Aard’ige Garens in Leuven.

Green new year’s resolution:

Eva gives you a lot of inspiration for greener, more conscious new year’s resolutions for 2025! Besides stopping buying polyester clothing, she also wants to be more creative in the new year. For example, by making her own clothes or by upcycling clothes from her own wardrobe. Get inspired by other creative makers from your area, for example by these local makers from Amsterdam West!

Green new year’s resolution:

Buying no new clothes sounds like a difficult challenge, but it doesn’t have to be like that! There are still many great second-hand, pre-loved and vintage options to choose from. Discover the coolest hidden gems for pre-loved and vintage clothing in our shopping guides. Here you’ll find the best second-hand shops in Belgian cities such as Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges and Aalst. In the Netherlands, you can also find many great second-hand and vintage shops in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Arnhem, Tilburg and more via our guides.

Green new year’s resolution:

Do you like to travel? Then the impact of flying might be something you struggle with. For example, choose to travel more by train in 2025, especially if you are traveling within Europe. For the adventurous, there are also some really cool long-distance hikes and bike trails in Europe that allow you to discover new places without creating emissions! At Vaude you can find everything for these kind of adventures.

It is also possible to use as many plastic-free and zero-waste products as possible while traveling. This way you only create beautiful memories and leave no waste behind. Discover our tips for a zero-waste lifestyle that you can also apply during your trips. Or choose to take plastic-free cosmetics with you while travelling: this is better for the environment and makes your backpack a bit lighter!

Green new year’s resolution:

Do you, like Silke, also want to radically reduce your clothing consumption? That’s great! At COSH we strongly encourage this. Promise to cherish your clothes longer, make fewer impulse purchases, repair them and give them a new life: join the revolution and sign the Wear For Life pledge!

Buying less clothes also means that you’ll wear the same clothes more often. This means that they’ll wear out faster and need some extra love to last longer. Learn to repair, embroider or visibly mend your torn or worn clothes, for example during a visible mending workshop at De Steek in Amsterdam. Are you not that handy yourself? Bring your clothes to a professional tailor in your area.

Green new year’s resolution:

In the new year, do you want to focus on a more conscious daily routine, just like Irena? There are several ways to make daily activities, such as waking up, sleeping, laundry, cleaning and groceries, more sustainable. For example, discover our tips for more sustainable bedroom accessories here, so that you create a better sleeping routine. Or start 2025 with a major cleaning of the house, where you only use eco-friendlier cleaning products. There are also many ways to make your laundry routine more sustainable and waste-free. Also choose waste-free options when doing your daily groceries, by going to the packaging-free stores like these.

Green new year’s resolution:

A new year with more exercising: it is a very popular and common new year’s resolution. How about also looking for more sustainable options for sportswear? We give tips on where you can best find more sustainable sportswear. Also for yoga lovers there are many brands that work in an environmentally friendlier and more social way.

Do you, like Ellen, have several new year’s resolutions for 2025? This is really good and mindful! Different green resolutions can help you create a more conscious and sustainable lifestyle. A tip from us: start step by step and don’t try everything at once! Take one new year’s resolution that you prefer and get started with it. For example, buy a Guppyfriend laundry bag and wash all your polyester clothing with it. Or start by repairing some of your worn clothing from your wardrobe. Or try, when buying something, to always choose second-hand. Every step helps you towards a more conscious wardrobe, but you don’t have to do everything perfectly right away!