- Buy from an op shop
- Buy organic cotton or some other sustainable item from a large department store, thereby increasing demand for more sustainable products
- Buy sustainable item locally made from small local business.
Anyway, I've been thinking about op shop shopping for a while now, and I've decided that I would aim for number 2 or 3 on the list, as I want my hard-earned money to have a wider purpose - to drive the consumer market towards where I want it to go - to encourage manufacturers to see that there is a demand for sustainably made clothes, and so hopefully they will make more and buy more. My thoughts are (and these are just my own personal views) that at op shops you get good value and your money goes to support a charity but it doesn't encourage any market shifts if you get my drift
But anyway, yesterday I had to go to Big W to get a skort for DD1's school uniform. While I was there, I noticed they had organic cotton t-shirts for sale. They had catchy 'save the earth' type slogans on them and I needed a t-shirt and so did DH, so I bought us one each. I didn't get a chance to look at them in the shop as I was holding a wriggly toddler in one arm and trying to placate DD1 who wanted to go and look in the toy section.
Anyway, I got them home and was really disappointed. They'll get worn, don't get me wrong, but they were just not what I was expecting. They were dyed with a really strong colourful dye and had some plasticy stuff on the front for the slogan. They were made in China and they just had the wrong 'vibe' if you know what I mean. So I'm canning number 2 as an option.
Since I've discounted op-shops, that leaves me with number 3. Tricky! Is there anywhere in Hobart where you can buy locally made (or at least Aust made) clothes made with natural (preferably organic) fibres? I've only found 2 shops that cut it so far. One unfortunately is way outside my budget, but in the other one I picked up a long sleeved cotton top made in Aust - woohoo!!!
Oh and also, before you ask, I can't sew (well, I can only sew quilts!!) so I can't make my own. To be honest, I'm not interested enough in clothes to spend time making them. I don't even want to have to buy them that often. I just want the purchases I make to actually mean something. Phew! Its all trickier than I thought. Anyway, its no more clothes purchases from big stores for me - local and Aust made all the way.
4 comments:
hmm that IS a tricky one CC and one I struggle with too! We don't even have anywhere here that sells local handcrafts etc, so locally made is pretty much out for me as an adult, but I did read in the paper about a lady who has just opened a kids store called Piggy Girl and she is making kids clothing from recycled clothing and nothing in the store is over $25 so I am kind of hoping we need to buy the girls some new clothes soon so I can go and support this very talented local gal! (hmm actually I'm not very big, maybe I can fit into some of the teen clothing....)
I hope some locals might be able to give you some ideas of local places, but the only other suggestions I have is to consider shopping online - my dilemma with that is that whilst you may be driving the market the way you want, its still not helping locally and you have to factor in transportation costs...
Good Luck...
I think its great that you have thought this through so much. I have to agree with you about large stores stocking "green" things that just don't have the right vibe. A part of me also feels like yelling at them to say, "it's green but is it ETHICAL???"
Shopping online is great this way, 'cause it does widen your choices a bit more. You might want to check out Etsy... you may be surprised and find people near you have an Etsy shop.
Hey thanks for the comments guys! Shopping online is a great idea - I do it for cloth nappies, so I can't see why it wouldn't work for clothes too. I see a whole new world of sustainable clothing opening up......
LOL! I'd be careful of Etsy if I were you. It looks far too addictive!
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