Welcome to our Go Green Challenge: 4 Weeks to an Earth-Friendly Home! Find more posts from this series here. As a reminder, we are focusing on buying only used this week.
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Let’s talk clothes. I really enjoy clothes — I like looking at fashion and even enjoy shopping up to a certain point. Fashionista, I am not, but I do like everyday, regular-girl fashion. I am not into couture, designer labels, or cutting edge anything. I’m fairly pedestrian in all areas of life, including the clothing I wear and like.
I have always purchased clothing on sale or from the clearance racks. That’s what I’ve been taught — when I heard “Half-off clearance sale at Lamonts” as a child, I knew my mom and her friends were going shopping and taking all the children with them. We’d play in the clothing racks while the moms would work through what seemed to be 1,284 racks of clearance clothes at the old Lamonts store in the SeaTac Mall (wazzup, Federal Way?).
When I became an adult, I followed suit. Shop the sales. Use your coupons. Drop everything for a good clearance sale and build your wardrobe. I never thought of where my clothing was made or who was making it, I just liked that it was inexpensive and plentiful.
This was working just fine until I read this blog post, “Financial Stewardship is Overrated” two months ago:
Every time we make a purchase, even if the item is free (when I am using coupons) we set into motion a series of events that causes human lives to be destroyed. Yes, you read that correctly. Human lives, children’s lives, destroyed because of what we purchased at the mall.
The author spoke to my heart.
I can NOT continue to live as if the individuals in the other side of the globe don’t exist. Human stewardship is caring for the individuals that God created in His image, designed by Him for a purpose.
And it cut me to the core.
I understand that I cannot change the entire clothing manufacturing industry. I can’t save all the people who work in places like the garment factory in Bangladesh that collapsed and killed upwards of 440 people who were making clothes for us (and now read what Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate writes — ouch). But my faith tells me I am responsible for my decisions and those people who are affected by my decisions. And it’s pretty clear that clothing made overseas carries a very high likelihood that it was made by a child, a slave, or someone working in horrible working conditions.
So I have made the decision to opt out of this system as much as I can. I am finished buying new clothing. I do know there are labels and online stores that carry clothing made by adults making a liveable wage in safe conditions, but I just don’t have the time right now in my life to research it. I also don’t want to spend the next two months learning exactly what each classification of manufacturing means. I need to wash my floors. So the only easy solution I can come up with right now is to buy used clothing. No research, no searching involved and my money stays in my local community.
Right about the time I made this decision, I spiraled into a panic. I was convinced I would never find anything that fit or looked cute again (I am constantly plagued by first-world problems). I may have even cried.
And then I made myself walk into the Salvation Army thrift store on a Wednesday for their 50% off sale. Yes, it smelled a bit (there’s a lot of heavy smokers who shop on 50% off days). Yes, the place is not organized by the correct size all the time. And yes, I had to search a little.
But you know what? Two hours later, I walked out with four pairs of jeans that fit and looked fantastic on me. Four pairs of jeans for $15.96. Total. And all $15.96 went to the Salvation Army. I was reborn at that moment.
That was six weeks ago. I am a mere thrifting baby, just learning the ways of secondhand shopping, but I am beyond thrilled. Since my initial Salvation Army experience, I have discovered other fantastic secondhand clothing options both locally in Portland and online. I am now convinced that you can build a fantastic secondhand wardrobe filled with quality items at equal to or less than what you’d get on sale or clearance at the stores. And it does not require hours upon hours of digging. I promise.
Not only does purchasing clothing secondhand remove you from the garment industry chaos, but it means one less jeans-sized amount of natural resources had to be used to create it. I love that I can be socially, environmentally, and financially responsible all at the same time!
My commitment at this point is to purchase all my clothing secondhand except socks, underwear, and bras (lucky for me that my Nordstrom nursing bras are made in Portugal). I’m still on the fence about shoes — I may be willing to pony up for fair trade shoes or just wear TOMS with everything (please tell me TOMS are on the up-and-up). I have also started transiting to secondhand clothing for my kids and made a good start shopping this season’s children’s consignment events.
Coming next: Where I’ve shopped and some outfits I’ve built with secondhand clothing!
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so i have not read the articles mentioned but I do believe in thrift stores for many of the reasons you observe. If we all stop shopping for cheap overseas produced clothing….will families starve to death with no way to earn any income at all? what will be a new solution for their labor? I am sure someone who has read much more can give me some thoughts on this 🙂
I appreciate what we want to do ethically. But the same is true of bananas…..if we are to stop buying them because they are not local, won’t the south america economies/farms that grow bananas be terribly affected?
Tiffany, no families won’t starve. The companies that aren’t paying fair wages can afford to…we just don’t demand that they do. It takes us stepping up and saying we’ll pay more to lean in the direction of freedom. If we create a demand for products ethically produced it can happen. The Fair Trade industry is growing daily with companies hiring people, providing sustainable futures and improving local economies because people are willing to support it. As the owner of a fair trade store I talk to people daily who are becoming enlightened to the issues at hand and are willing to purchase in the direction of advocacy toward ethical consumerism.
You should definitely check Goodwill for shoes! I buy almost all of my shoes there – TOMS (brand new, silver glittery ones for $25), Target, Nordstrom, Steve Madden, Adidas, Ecco, Keens…I could go on and on! And most range between $6.99-$9.99. I used to have a style blog and would do weekly posts about my thrifting clothing finds. If you need any pointers, let me know! 🙂
Since reading Shane claiborne’s book Irresistable Revolution, I’ve gone back and forth with this one. We ended up spending too much time thrift shopping, etc. and I just decided I would try it again when the kids are older. I live in a small town on the coast though, so the pickings here are probably much slimmer than Portland’s.
I decided I would just stack coupons, buy basics that will last a long time, keep to the same couple of stores, keep it simple. I use the time I save to pray for those kids. Sometimes, I can send money to missionaries that are trying to help families stay together in developing countries. It would be my dream come true to find well-crafted, organic, basic clothing from honest, fair manufacturers. I would make sacrifices in other areas of our already stretched budget to pay for that.
OH, and I started just trying to update my own clothes with a few quick sessions at the sewing machine here and there, instead of buying new or used.
When you want to go hardcore hit up “the bins”, its the by the pound Goodwills. A never ending rotation of bins full of whatever.
I’ve run across a bunch of women that go about once a month, leave the kids with the hubbies and find lots of great clothes for the family.
For extra money I get clothes there and sell on Ebay, sometimes even still with tags, my greatest find was a $400 jacket w/tags for maybe $2 based on weight.
I’m really looking forward to your future post with outfits.
I’ve always shopped thrift stores, but I must admit I have a hard time coming out of one with something that looks really stylish. I’m not one of those people with a knack for putting looks together, and I do like how a regular store sort of show you how it should go!
It would also be cool to have a future post on fair trade groups and similar organizations that sell things that help people better their lives.
Have you heard about bead for life? You can get really beautiful things that are helping save women and children.
My mom was a single mom and always thrift shopped. It has worn off on me! I buy 90% of my family’s clothing 2nd hand. Under garments and socks are always bought new. If you are in the Portland area, check out Red, White, and Blue. Best thrift store up there in my opinion. I also love shopping Value Village. If you bring in a bag of donations they give you a 20% coupon. I will shop Goodwill. I am not a local to Portland so my main thrift shopping is done at Value Village. I do but 2nd hand shoe but I do not buy junk. I have found Clarks, Keens, and Tevas all used and in like new condition. I really recommend if you start thrift shopping to go in every week because their inventory changes every day and you do not want to miss something fantastic!
Kirsten!!! There is an awesome plus sized consignment shop on SE Hawthorne! It’s called Savvy Plus. They carry 14W on up. Very organized, such cute stuff! Very good prices too! First time customers get a 10% discount! The owner is lovely !
If I could just find a good outlet for plus sized clothing. Seems that the thrifts I’ve gone to have plus sized clothing from the 80s or earlier. So I stick to clearance racks for now.
I’ve done well outfitting my kids through thrift stores 🙂
Kristen: I totally agree with you! I have noticed how, well, dated the plus-sized clothing items are at the Salvation Army. I hope to find some good options to share with all of you soon!
You don’t have to be religious to make the right choices. It just takes a brain. There is a cause/effect to every single thing we do each day, regardless of ones faith, or lack thereof.
ABSOLUTELY liz! I tell people at our store that we all have the common bond of needing to be “humanitarian” in our decisions. Some are motivated even deeper by their faith, but we need to approach this from the perspective that our actions have far reaching consequences. Ultimately we need to come to grip with the fact that…NO ONE should be for sale.
I rarely, if ever, comment, but just had to say that this is something I’ve been thinking a lot about in the last month or two. I am not a big consumer per say, but I love clothes and clothes shopping, and I am kind of a snob about quality vs. quantity. On the other hand, I can’t pretend I don’t know about child slavery anymore. Hard stuff. Great post, and I’m so glad you put your voice to this!
If you need items for work or love the designer racks, then Consign Couture in St. Johns is wonderful. Tamara curates items that are flawless so you don’t have to weed out the stains, rips, tears, etc. It’s more expensive than Goodwill, etc. but if you don’t have time to dig or drive around town and you do need higher end items for work, etc., this is a much better alternative to the department stores.
I think a drive to St. John’s is in order! Thanks for the recommendation, Siobhan!
Our family story was that I was born in a Goodwill bin. My parents have always shopped thrift stores and garage sales. I have a letter my mom wrote my Grandma where she talks about some cute baby clothes she got for me and how much she paid for them. Shopping second hand is the thrill of the chase. I’ve always worn designer clothes but never the prices. In fact the times where I needed a specific item quickly and bought it new it was never a great quality and wore out fast.
Great Article, great advice. I do suggest researching your “thrift store” of choice. I, for one, will NEVER shop at Goodwill because they are not a charity, their CEO gets paid around $500,000 a year but employees are sometimes less than minimum wage and the stores nationwide are non taxed as they are “charities”. Deseret Industries and other tru charities providing for local communities are better choices. That being said, it isn’t easy to find clothing at all stores of the same caliber (worn stages vary). Thanks again for the inspiration.
St. Vincent DePaul has side operations that are profitable yet untaxed because they are a “charity” as well. For instance, they provide private security and because part of their organization aids those with disabilities, the company is guaranteed certain government contracts, even though none of those people with disabilities work security.
Besides a great coupon score my second thrill comes on Every Wednesday @The Salvation Army (Vancouver, WA)
I have found unbelieveable deals – New Franco Boots $5.50, Lucy work out jacket $4.49, and a stunning Ann Taylor Dress Coat for $3.49. It’s truly a blast…..Happy Shopping.
Thank you for this post. I shop very regularly secondhand and this is good food for thought. I have also recently had good luck with ebay for high end items that I know I like and clothing/accessory swaps with friends. I am a bit sad that the comments section of the FB post has turned into people pushing their own agendas. Sigh. This is the perfect example of why I both love and hate FB 🙂
I think I have bought thrift store all my life. Goodwill was not something that appeared in the 90s for me, it has been around since I was a child. I don’t often like the “new hip” fashions, so Goodwill was a way to find somethign different that i did like. And the prices at stores with new clothing are still a shock to me. A plain t-shirt should not cost $10. Jeans should not be $50.
And Goodwill hunting is fun. The day you find a name brand shirt with the tags still on it…SCORE! Honestly i dont know when i last bought outerwear at a regular store.
Just one tiny devil’s advocate thought. Buying second hand
Is awesome, but it doesn’t completely remove you
From the garment industry. Every item you bought was still made somewhere by someone, possibly in poor conditions. That part doesn’t go away because you bought it used.
Diana….. You can’t change the event we shall call “other people’s purchases”…but you can LEAN in the direction of freedom with yours. The result of purchasing used is that there isn’t a gap on a store shelf from you buying new that will have to be filled by reordering the same tainted product again. The more times that item is “recycled” the farther away it gets from its original “sin”.
Thank you for articulating that idea. I know it in my heart, just haven’t put words to it yet.
I buy just about EVERYTHING at thrift stores. Not only my whole wardrobe (which I am always complimented on) but my dishes, kitchen appliances, (I got a brand-new rice cooker for $9 recently) furniture, TV’s, books, lamps, silk flowers, baby items… I even found many things for my wedding 2 years ago, including my dress, ($100 for a strapless Maggie Sottero coture gown with a corset back) a full-size arbor with lights, toasting glasses and a modern cake topper.
I am a thrifting savant! I know who has te best stuff, when they have sales, markdown days, etc. I am also an online thrifter. Poshmark is an apple app that is essentially an online marketplace for women to buy sell and trade clothing! There is also people who list men’s and children’s items! You can find just about anything! An added bonus is that the seller can model the item, in case you’re weary about online used clothes buying. I do a lot of trades on there and it’s fantastic. Women love getting new clothes so trading is right up my alley! Other good options in Portland are Goodwill and Deseret. Target liquidates to Goodwill so last seasons styles brand new for 50-75% off! Deseret doesn’t have a pricing structure based on brand, as most Goodwills do. Those are my faves. I you join Poshmark, enter te code HYCOT and get a $5 credit!!
I am a new thrift store convert too. I am not a likely thrift store shopper as I am a clothes snob. But I am finding Ann Taylor, J. Crew, White House/Black Market stuff and getting them for under $5 an item. You can feel good to recycle and save yourself tons of money. My favorite thrift store moment was when I walked into the Salvation Army right before school started and they had all kids clothes 4 for $1! Again, my inner snob kicked in and I only grabbed Gymboree, Gap and the good stuff, but got my kids 12 perfect items for $3. My tip if you are just starting out and feel overwhelmed when you walk in the store is to go with one mission, say jeans (or skirts or kids clothes, whatever you most need right now). Only look at and shop the jeans that day.
This is an INCREDIBLE post to read..My Dad is involved with the organization Not For Sale, and he owns his own Fair Trade store called Ethical Choices in Everett, Wa. He is always preaching to people about not buying other peoples tragedies, and how important it is to research your purchases. They are constantly doing different promotions where part of their sales goes to help someone, and this month it is to send girls in Nepal to school so that they don’t end up being trafficked etc..
Thank you Nicole! This is an INCREDIBLE post! Our purchases ARE our advocacy. We either purchase in the direction freedom or we advocate for slavery. It’s that simple. Every transaction is an affirmation of the dynamic: do we want to consume the tragedy of another and adorn ourselves with their misery? If we hold the line and INSIST that we won’t tolerate marginalization of other human beings for the sake of CHEAP, we can change this equation. It’s important that we don’t lose the connection (as someone has said) between the pictures of the rubble in Bangladesh and the hangers in our closets.