Founded by Jessie Jiang in 2019, she described Basically Borrowed as an online community and content platform resource hub where people can get info on sustainable fashion and start conversations about it. The content platform started “as a little experiment to partially address a personal need - to somehow utilize my now-idle wardrobe by sharing it with

with others.” What started as something personal has now grown into a great community of people interested in fashion and putting efforts into helping our environment. They make sure to center the brand “around the mission to encourage sustainability and to create a community around this advocacy.”

Aside from having an Instagram account (@basicallyborrowed) where people can get their fashion info, they also run two Facebook groups: Basically Borrowed: The Fashion Circle, and Basically Borrowed: Buy, Sell, and Swap Fashion. It’s where people can have discourse on sustainable fashion and sell, swap, and share preloved personal fashion items, respectively. “Additionally, we have just started a Medium blog where we plan to publish longer-form investigative journalism pieces exploring the intersections between fashion, business, and sustainability,” Jessie shares.

Did we mention that they also organize free fun events? Just two months ago, they partnered up with a major clothing brand for an upcycling workshop. “We do organize regular, free community events such as our monthly virtual clothing swaps, as well as seminars/webinars and workshops that aim to inform and enable people to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle.” By organizing such initiatives, people who have been wanting to participate in such a lifestyle, but may not be aware of the many different means to do so can gain access to the info and encouragement they need to put their passion into action.

With simple how-to guides, crash courses on DIY projects and initiating discussions on different issues surrounding fashion, Basically Borrowed can give you the tidbits of information that you need to get you started on your sustainable fashion journey.