This past July I went on a girl’s trip with my sister-in-law and her friend to Phoenix, Arizona. I know...Phoenix in July 😳😂. The trip had been planned for the hot hot heat because in Phoenix resides a store called Last Chance. Attracting sale-hunting shoppers, the store is a bargain-basement full of designer merchandise that didn’t sell at Nordstrom Rack. 🛍 It may be last season but who cares? Designer goods at deep discounts. Fun for yourself. No returns. Long lines. And you better do a once over with each item to ensure there are no rips, tears, or stains.
I was beyond excited to get away for a weekend (on my first girls’ trip :) and have a break from mom mode and work. The previous months had been stressful, to say the least. I gave birth to our second baby in March 👶🏻 and we moved a few months later. 📦 All I was thinking was: bring on the pool, relaxation, endless conversations, alone time....and SLEEP! 🛌 Who cares if I have to pump breast milk every 5 hours. I was about to get three days of no adulting! 🤩
My intentions with the shopping endeavor were to find my husband some clothes as well as experiment a little. With a big change at work, he no longer needed to wear “workwear” or work boots but needed some business casual clothes for the office. 💻 I needed new clothes too, as my postpartum body didn’t yet fit my old clothing. But I was holding off on buying till later, to try and meet my fitness goals, and even though it’s probably not the best goal- I was waiting to see if I could fit back in my old clothes to avoid unnecessary purchases. I was, and have been practicing being more thoughtful about my consumption (while balancing my insatiable excitement for clothing).🛍👠
With experimenting in mind, I sort of wanted to observe myself as well as the experience overall. Would I not buy something if I couldn’t find out how it was made? “Would I find anything “sustainable?” Would I rationalize certain thoughts?
“That dress is gorgeous...but I already have one similar to it...but this one’s different….” 👗
“Does it make a difference if I buy it?...... It’s already sitting there….?” 😶
“I’m here for his clothes but what if I find something for me that I really do need and don’t want to wait?” 😯
“Would I find affordable “sustainable” clothing?”💵
It reminds me of contemplating becoming a vegetarian. While at the grocery store looking at the meat I think…. “well it’s already here….the animal has already died and the meat processed...it’s already here. So how does it harm anything or anyone to just buy it?
An ignorant mindset- I know. I want to address this but will save it for another post, as it will get quite lengthy and I’d like to stay on topic of this particular experience.
Overall the trip was incredible.🤩 I got some much-needed time away with some much-needed quality time with other women while floating down a lazy river 🏝 for hours and sleeping in. Oh and not to mention some killer enchiladas at Chico Malo 🌮 Best enchiladas I’ve had. 🤤 The only disappointing parts of the trip were: finding only one piece of clothing labeled as “sustainable” 😐 and having to throw away all my pumped breastmilk.🍼 That hurt. 😩
My shopping experiment went how I thought it’d go. My intentions and actions along with the clothing I found didn’t surprise me. (Even though I have a lot to learn about this side of fashion, I do know the industry pretty well. I anticipated most of what would be offered at the store but was hopeful.
My intentions:
Buy mostly for my husband because he really did need almost a whole new wardrobe. 👔
Hope for at least some clothes to be made responsibly. 🙋🏻♂️🙋🏽♀️
If a few things for me caught my eye, I’d investigate the brand quickly and decide A) if I really needed it in my closet and couldn’t wait and B) if they were a brand that deserved my money. I.e. if they were a “sustainable brand.”
My actions:
I bought mostly for my husband despite none of the clothes being “sustainable” clothes.
I bought a few pieces for myself despite only finding one piece with claims of being a “sustainable” piece.
I maintained a cautious and confused then frantic mindset. My inner dialog saying:
“It’s already here... how does it do any harm by purchasing it and taking it home…? But ideally, I want to buy exclusively “sustainable clothing” but can’t find any- except one…..but regardless my husband needs new clothes and many clothes at that so I just need to stock up while I’m here. Now that I think about it I do need new sweats (since the ones I have right now are maternity sweats) and I have been needing new jeans since my pre-pregnancy ones don’t fit yet…but I should just wait...but I’m already here.. Bla bla bla.” 🤯
What happened: While in the store the cell service was spotty since it was in a basement. But I managed to FaceTime with my husband (while it cut in and out) to have him ok the clothes I was picking out. 📱 None of the men’s clothes had anything that indicated how responsibly made they were, yet I still purchased them because at the end of the day he needed clothing for work right away. And we didn’t have the budget for ALL his clothing to be from “sustainable brands.” 💵 (Since what I’ve found so far for men’s is out of our budget).
After his shopping was done, I started snooping around at the massive women’s section to see if anything was labeled as “sustainable” while observing my surroundings. I was also looking for other tags labeled as slow, circular, responsible, ethical, fair, or thoughtful.
Side note- this moment reminds me of Cady in Mean Girls imagining everyone in an animalistic state. 🦍🐅😂 And although this is highly exaggerated, it’s what I pictured.
I knew the type of consumer this store was going to attract- bargain happy hunters and…..me…. clearly….🤨 but still, it left me….a little bugged. I love shopping! But it brought me back to taking part in Black Friday shopping. I used to shop the day after Thanksgiving (but mostly work it with all my years of retail jobs). I’d witnessed the hyped-up, material-focused, deal-crazy consumers running around buying everything in sight. But at the same time, what’s wrong with getting a good deal on something you’ve been planning to buy? 😶 (Yes, I know, most of the Black Friday shoppers don’t PLAN their purchases, they’re mostly impulse buys, based only on how great of a deal it is). 💵
Anyway, people were acting like it was Black Friday! Rummaging around between hangers, bins, and tags; quick to check the price and condition. They were acting like it was…...the last chance to get what they saw. 😳 I.e. The reason for the name of the store. Duh. 🤦🏻♀️ Some people were throwing items in their cart without even looking at them which I later realized were the under-the-table resale people. (Buying designer merchandise at a deep discount then selling for full price online). 💻
Throughout the 4 hours we were there, I felt myself go from cautious to frantic. I began with being embarrassed at the people mindlessly throwing things in their cart to sort of almost becoming frantic with it being my last chance to buy something. The environment influenced me more than I’d like to admit. I may not find anything like it again! It was a slippery slope. Even though I wasn’t mindless about it, I still consumed items I could have lived without. I have improved over the years by asking myself: do I really need this?🤔 But that’s the thing- we as consumers need to buy things if we are going to live in this modern world. We need to buy clothing to stay warm or cool and not walk around nude everywhere. 🤪😵😂 But where does it end? How much is too much? 😦🤯🙁
Every time I saw something attractive, I picked it up to see if I recognized the brand. If not, I pulled out my phone to look up their IG. If they were a “sustainable brand”, I would know right away from their IG, but then again if they were I should have been able to tell right off the bat with their branding, tags, and labels. 🏷 And while attempting to vet a brand, anything I looked up took forever to load because the service was spotty and other people were hustling past me trying to look at something nearby. I was also running out of steam. We’d been there for hours. I had fun but was tired,😰 overstimulated, hungry, and T.M.I. but my boobs were aching. 😩 Dolly Parton was all up in there since I hadn’t pumped in hours. We needed to eat and get back to the hotel. 😮💨
All in all, I didn’t have time to vet all the brands I came across. Between trying to be considerate of everyone's time, ⏰ the in and out cell service, and lack of options, 🤯 I left with only one piece of clothing meeting my expectations. Sure I could have not bought anything. But my husband needed clothes, I was already there, and didn’t want to wait another six months to see if I'd fit in any of my old clothes. 🗓
I felt a part of the problem. And then I realized I didn’t have to feel guilty or feel a part of the problem if I wasn’t buying everything mindlessly. I was cautious, thoughtful, and realistic. And I had a BLAST frolicking through the isles enjoying an iconic feminine activity with friends!.🛍😄 It had been so long since I’d been on a classic “shopping spree” with other women and laughed till I was blue in the face, playing dress-up with items I wasn’t even considering buying. (Way too big bedazzled blazers and ugly dresses). My second wind pulled through allowing me to truly have so much fun just spending time with people I care about playing dress-up. 😂
Did I harm the environment by purchasing those clothes? 🌎 Did I harm the workers who made the clothing by purchasing them? 🙋🏽♀️🙋🏻♂️ Did I add to a big-box retailer's annual profits who didn't deserve my money? Should we have waited to save more money for higher quality, longer-lasting, more responsibly made clothing? 💵🗓 Am I overthinking this? 🤦🏻♀️ Giving myself too much credit or not enough? (After thinking about your own thoughts and actions so much, your self-awareness goes on the fritz, at least in my opinion).😂🤯
I can’t answer all my questions yet because I am still educating myself 📖 on how the apparel industry operates and the true effects it has on us and our environment.
But I have put together my thoughts from this experience:
The reality (aside from cost), is that consumers don't have time to stop and look at each piece of clothing they hold up and check to see if it was made responsibly or if it was created with sustainable fibers. Or open a new tab in our browser and go down a rabbit hole of what we're looking at. As consumers, we, (in my experience) are mostly thinking: 🤔
"Do I like this?"
"How much is it?"
"Would it look good on me?"
"I already have something similar."
"Would my friend like this?"
"I need to hurry and pick something cause I gotta go."
And for most people, if there’s any info on the tag in regards to sustainability, we feel a little better about our purchase. It's a perk, not a deciding factor.😶
There are so many reasons why sustainable fashion isn't the norm yet:
-A lot of “sustainably made” products are too expensive for many consumers 💵
-We are strapped for time and just need to pick something out or order it and move on with our day 🧭
-Most consumers don't care- out of sight out of mind mentality (not seeing the landfills or people who make the products). 🤭
-The effects of mass-producing garments for generations aren’t something we can physically see right away in regards to toxic chemicals releasing or global carbon emissions. The only tangible effects we can feel or touch to comprehend, appreciate, and really mentally grasp are landfills, polluted oceans, many of which most consumers never see.👀
-Consumers aren't educated enough about this topic. They don't know what "sustainable fashion" means or how fast fashion affects people and our environment. 📖
-” Sustainable fashion” is currently a buzzword, making consumers suspicious of brands’ claims. It may very well not be the best word to use to advertise responsibly made products. 🤔
-Consumers may think sustainable fashion is a fad (pun intended😉) and just the next thing companies are advertising to get our attention and money. 🗓
-The information isn't available on a convenient, widely used platform. 📱
-Big box stores/big brands still very much dominate this sector of consumer spending and almost all big brands are not “sustainable.” 🏫
-Big box stores/big brands may be the only place some people have to shop at, logistically 🗺
-Many big box stores/big brands may never become transparent because they know they don't make their products responsibly. So they make one or two products responsibly and advertise that- making consumers believe they are “sustainable” as a whole, when in fact it was just a few products (greenwashing). 🤫
-If a consumer is looking for a specific item and they find it- that’s it! Consumers aren't going to pass up the perfect piece just because it wasn't made responsibly.✔️
-Overconsumption is what we've been taught and it's the norm- the less people buy the less money companies make. 🤷🏻♀️
-This is simply not at the forefront of most people's minds- they're living their life, and shopping “sustainably” is the last thing on their minds. 👥
I certainly (and obviously) am not perfect when it comes to buying sustainable products exclusively. But the goal is not to be perfect. The goal I believe, at least starting out, is to be more thoughtful 🧠 and more conscious 🤓 of our consumption. I am continuously educating myself and making a conscious effort as to where my money and time are going. 💛
Can we climb this seemingly insurmountable mountain? Can the industry make lasting change? Can we find a balance between guilt and effort? There are monumental hurdles we have to overcome- but I believe if we start to break down what "sustainable fashion" really is and get accurate, 🔍 true information mainstreamed in a clear, efficient way, we can begin to educate consumers. I think that would be a good start. 💛
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