Shopping green and organic has been a very big thing with me lately. I do my best to make informed choices when it comes to household purchases and I was under the impression that I was doing really well. However, when it came to getting green and organic clothing, my initial expectations were blown straight out of the water.
Now, mind you, I should probably pause here to illustrate our income standing at this point. Marv is an E-5 in the Navy. (I don’t mind sharing this information because it’s easily accessible on the internet and you can always Google how much he makes.) We make what we like to call “enough money”. We’ve busted our butts and gotten ourselves clear of some pretty bad financial nastiness we’d gotten into and now, we’ve got enough to pay our bills, put into savings, plus some extra for fun stuff and unexpected necessities. That said, it’s not like we go on shopping sprees every day either. We’re careful. Especially in today’s economy.
So when I tell you that I almost fell out of my shopping chair (read: desk chair) while surfing online for green, organic, and fair trade clothes, I tell you this as someone who does have money to spend, but whose money also has a pretty tight leash.
Some organic jeans run you an average of $140 a pair. Yeah, I said that right. One hundred and forty dollars. Never mind organic shirts that are cute and maybe have some really cute designs on them – $32. I had to hide my wallet from the computer screen so it didn’t go into shock. Poor thing. It’s been used to living on a budget that can really only afford Wal-Mart and outlet store price tags.
There are some options, but they’re few and far between, and most can be very plain. Should you expect that a pair of organic / fair trade jeans or a couple shirts to be as inexpensive as something you might pick up at your local department store? Probably not. The whole gist of the movement is to ensure people are getting their fair share for the work they do in bringing these clothes to life. And it’s a beautiful thing.
But in a down economic environment living here in the States, what’s a lower-end middle class military wife to do?
Thrift stores. They’re amazing treasure troves of brand names, names you’ve never heard of, and ultimately cool stuff and stupendously low prices. If you look hard enough, you can find lots of clothing items with the tags still on them, and tons of brand names that you might not have been able to afford were they in a regular retail store.
Added green bonus about shopping thrift stores – you’re giving clothes that would otherwise have been thrown out a chance at a second life.
Another option is, of course, Ebay. Quite frankly, for someone like me who’s an online shopping addict, Ebay is a beautiful place. Just add NWT to your search. NWT stands for New With Tags. If you’re searching for shoes, add NIB, which stands for New In Box. It might have been worn maybe once or twice (if you’re looking for a formal gown or something) but the tags are still on that bad boy.
Also, you actually might want to check out Wal-Mart. They’ve started to stock organic clothes, towels, and bedding. Some is also listed as transitional cotton, which means the cotton for the item was purchased from a farmer who is transitioning their farming practices to become a completely organic establishment.
Does all this mean I’m against buying new organic / fair trade clothes? Certainly not. If/when I have the money to splurge, you better bet your bottom I’ll be the first in line to treat myself to some of that yummy new stuff. But for now? Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
