There’s an H&M opening in my town today. I gotta admit, I’m pretty excited.
And then, well, I think about the garment factory in Bangladesh.
Long-time readers may remember that I once ran a fair trade website. I sold clothes and jewelry made by artisans who received a fair wage for their skills and were ensured good working conditions.
And then I had kids, shut down my business, and started buying all my clothes on sale at Old Navy so I could afford to buy new ones whenever the old ones were stained/ripped/outgrown after pregnancy, etc.
And THEN my fantastic friend Jessica showed me how to start dressing a little more stylishly, and I experienced the amazingness of Forever21 and H&M and beautiful fashion for cheap, cheap, cheap!
Yet I can’t forget what I know. I remember that there’s a different choice.
One choice is to treat my clothing with a little more respect. Last month my local MOMS chapter hosted an amazing clothing swap. Not that a clothing swap keeps anyone out of a sweatshop necessarily, but I think it cultivates an attitude of respect towards clothing, instead of encouraging us to treat it as trash.
I’m also thinking about what I can do to make my clothing choices a little more ethical again. Recently I needed a few new camis, so instead of hitting the mall I shopped through The Hunger Site and found organic cotton, fair trade tanks for half price.
Happily, my long-time favorite Modcloth has started carrying fair trade lines like People Tree and Mata Traders, which means I can continue my cute dress habit. I’m excited to have a place to buy fair trade clothes that are suitable for somewhere other than Bonnaroo. (Seriously, I love patchwork quilt skirts but you guys know what I mean.)
I’m not saying I’m not going to shop at H&M. That place is amazing, and I’m curious to check out their new eco-line. And you know I love some Old Navy. However, I’m hoping that I can remember that spending a little extra on clothes absolutely is worth another human being’s dignity and safety.
(The Modcloth link in this post totally is an affiliate link because I am all about some Modcloth credit! It gets you $15 off your first $50 order, too! )
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