The easiest way to protect your favorite pieces of clothing from fading, shrinking or getting damaged is to avoid the dryer. The high heat and tumbling action in dryers can shrink clothes and even weaken clothing by removing fibers that become dryer lint. Top fashion brands and stylists recommend washing clothes in cold water and then air-drying them. This does two things: It protects cothes and also helps them be wrinkle-free.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's a good reminder: Bring your own reusable bags to the store with you. Over 12 million barrels of oil are used to make plastic shopping bags ever year. Given the small percentage of plastic bags that actually get recycled, the majority end up clogging landfills or littering oceans, forests and rivers. And don't just use reusable bags for groceries: Major retailers and other stores now allow and encourage reusable bag use.

When laundering items like fleece sweatshirts, pants, light coats and other machine-washable items that have a zipper on them, be sure to zip them up before putting them in the wash. When the zippers are down, the teeth that make up an zipper act like little chainsaws. They can tear and rip into clothes when washing and drying laundry. And if you really want to protect your clothes, turn them inside out so they don't fade or wear out as quickly.