Your Guide to Sourcing Budget Friendly Sustainable Kid's Clothing
Hey hey, it’s me, coming at you with another round up straight from the experts -YOU GUYS OF COURSE! This is a blog post I’ve always wanted to write, but never felt equipped because honestly I’m still learning ALWAYS, and I don’t always make perfect choices myself when it comes to clothing options. I’ve only recently started to dive into the concept of FAST FASHION, what it means, how it impacts our earth, and alternative options to explore for myself and our family that don’t break the bank.
Growing up, we didn’t have a lot. Let me be clear, we always had enough, but what I didn’t have were nice clothes. Old Navy was a splurge for our family (I shopped there ONCE for my birthday), and I mostly got one pair of shoes, one or two pairs of nice jeans each year, and then spent the rest of my time in sports t-shirts I earned from school. We just didn’t do clothes shopping on the regular. I remember the first time I felt embarrassed about my clothes (it was the 4th grade and I had on pants that were too short for me and I got made fun of for having “high waters”).
At the time I felt less than, but honestly, I’m grateful that I didn’t grow up focusing on how I looked - it led to a full life of sports, academics, reading, and a million other things that make me who I am today. With that said, as I became an adult and stepped into my own sense of self, and started having a preference for clothing, outside of old softball t-shirts and jeans I still focused on the cheapest clothing I could find because I was young and money was always an issue!
Now, with a family and more financial stability, I’ve been able to budget and save and make more informed decisions about a lot of the items we decide to purchase for ourselves and our home, and exploring what that looks like when we apply it to our clothing has been one of the last items on my transition to more non-toxic options list. Let me be 100% clear, I’m no expert, and I STILL don’t always make clothing purchases that are environmentally friendly. Sometimes budget and convenience take precedence over sustainability, but now, more often than not, clothing is less of an impulse buy and more of a planned, intentional decision. You may have heard the term “fast fashion” being thrown around when talking about clothing sustainability, let’s explore what that means!
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion usually refers to the clothing that is:
trendy
low cost
low quality
focused on bottom line and profit margins
usually translates to underpaid workers in poor conditions
fashion runs on what’s ON TREND - there is thought be 52 “micro season” with new fashion products dropping weekly
results in serious clothing waste
oftentimes uses exponential amounts of water in the clothing making process (think of denim as being a high water waste product traditionally)
made in locations that often use cheap and toxic chemicals, dyes, and fragrances,
which not only make the clothing potentially toxic
but also pose a health risk for the workers
and potentially compromises the land and water supply of the countries in which the clothing is being made.
I learned A LOT from watching the movie, The True Cost, and here are some eye opening stats about the clothing and fast fashion industry:
“The world now consumes about 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year. (400% more than what we consumed 2 decades ago).”
“The average American now generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year, which adds up to more than 11 million tons of textile waste in the US alone.”
In short, the environmental impact of our clothing is considerable.
What is slow fashion?
Essentially, the opposite of fast fashion. Slow fashion takes into consideration the life cycle of a the article of clothing - from the textiles to the people to the toxins, it’s quality, it’s “shelf-life” and so much more. There will always be some sort of environmental impact when it comes to clothing, so instead of trying to be perfect, MY focus is on doing better when I can.
I don’t always choose “THE BEST” options, especially when it comes to clothing for myself, but I’m becoming more and more aware of my spending patterns, the life cycle of the items I do purchase that are “fast fashion” and becoming more set around the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe with a few high quality items I can wear and restyle over and over again for myself.
The focus of this post though is mostly on sourcing kids clothing. There are so many overlaps between what I do for myself and my own clothing and what I do for my kids, but the focus is even more important for me when it comes to purchasing kiddo items because they are constantly growing and changing and getting dirty that this naturally lends itself to investing in fast versus slow fashion. So here’s how I help get my priorities straight when I know I’m going to intentionally make a clothing purchase for myself or the kids.
Here are the questions I usually ask myself before I make a clothing purchase:
Do I need it?
Do I need it now, or can it wait?
If it is to replace a damaged item, can I have it repaired instead?
Can I find it second hand?
Am I willing to wait to invest in a quality piece?
If I am going to buy it new, do I have a store in mind that uses more sustainable practices?
If it’s a new item I’m purchasing, can I find it made with recycled materials?
This goes for kids clothing too! Because our kids grow so fast, and typically wear through their clothes really quickly, it makes almost no sense for us to buy tons of new, expensive clothing for them. Most of their clothes get stained the first time they wear it, let’s be honest. So these same questions apply to their clothing as well.
Now that we’ve talked about my mindset around MOST of our clothing purchases (again, I’ll remind you, I’m in no way shape or form perfect here), let’s talk about some resources to get you going on how to find more sustainable options for you and your kiddos.
Keep in mind I have some companies on here at the end that are not truly sustainable, but who at least have SOME initiative and plans around their clothing production to lessen their carbon footprint. And while I wouldn’t use that as my excuse to shop there solely, I think it’s helpful to know which more mainstream companies are making any moves towards improvement. Also note, all options here have kids clothing available. While there may be other stores that offer sustainable adult clothing, I wanted to make sure this post included only those that also offered kid clothing!
1) Hand me Downs
Because a single item of clothing can create huge amounts of waste in the production process one of the best ways to decrease your environmental impact with clothing production is to purchase or use pre-worn clothing whenever possible. I can’t tell you how much money, time and effort we saved by using passed down clothing from our friends and family members who had kiddos ahead in age. This not only is environmentally friendly, but easy on the wallet too!
2) Local Thrifting
Visiting local thrift stores is one of THE easiest and most fun ways to challenge yourself to stay within a budget and find some really cool items! I can’t tell you how much money I’ve saved on name brand clothing that was gently used just by shopping around our local second-hand stores! Again, you’re decreasing your environmental impact AND saving money - WIN WIN! Check below for some of my favorite local stores to shop through. Because of COVID, you’ll want to check and make sure these options are open to the public first!
Stores
Any local second hand or consignment stores
Facebook Groups/NEXTDOOR APP
There are so many ways to get connected with local clothing swap groups and even more ways to really pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for! You can search for hipster clothes, organic clothes, etc. and join groups that are all about that! You can also find just about anything on Facebook Marketplace these days! I’ve also recently started to explore our Next-door app to find things even more local to me.
Clothing swaps at your school
This may not be active right now because of COVID, but I’ve heard amazing things about getting together with your child’s class and doing a clothing exchange rummage!
Just Between Friends Sale
I don’t think these are currently active due to COVID but this a site that allows you to essentially participate in clothing exchanges with people you don’t know!
3) Online Thrifting
The online thrifting community has EXPLODED in the last five years, and with the current prevalence of COVID, become even more popular as you can get the rush of thrifting without ever leaving your home! This is again another great option for lessening environmental impact while also saving money. Of course you can always spend more than you need in any circumstance, but when I shop through online thrift stores I like to focus on quality items that would be staples or investments. I look for “new with tags” items for companies like Athleta, etc. that are normally outside my budget and jump on those items when I find them! These are clothes that will last a long time and become part of a minimal wardrobe for me. Be aware, it’s just like thrifting in real life, you’ll want to devote some time and patience, sifting through things to find what you want/need!
4) New Clothing
Last but not least if/when you do need to invest in new, never worn pieces of clothing, looking to support and purchase from companies “doing the work” to consider people and the planet can make a big impact! I like to look for certified B-Corporations when possible as I know they are already doing their best to consider end to end impact of their product. I also like to scour the website of any place I’m considering purchasing from to see if they have ANY information on sustainability efforts. You can typically find that info at the bottom navigation of any website OR you can email them directly!
Like I said, I’m definitely not perfect. My favorite pair of shorts are from Target. I LOVE Old Navy athletic wear. But I get most of my new kids clothing from the following stores when possible! I also shop things like winter coats during the off season, look for sales ALWAYS, and budget for things like school clothes shopping through what we call a “sink fund” so that these expenses don’t sneak up on us.
Online Retailers
Pact - I love Pact for all of our basics. They have incredible sales, and I got a large chunk of our back to school clothing from here!
Use my link to snag 20% off and Free shipping on your first order
Primary - Primary.com is another great site for kids basics. We got the majority of our school clothes for the kiddos from here. I like their inclusivity, the fact that the colors are really vibrant and appropriate for all genders or preferences, and the quality is SO GOOD. These are items that if taken care of, will last A LONG TIME.
Use my link to snag 20% off and Free shipping on your first order
Patagonia - I LOVE PATAGONIA. They are a B-Corp so purchasing new items from them is an investment in a high quality beautiful piece of clothing. The really cool part? They also have a website called Worn Wear that allows you to shop used Patagonia clothing at HUGE savings. I’m obsessed with it for things like winter coats, snow gear, etc. Stuff we don’t wear often, but we want to WORK.
Columbia - Another outdoor company that is providing transparency and initiatives around eco-friendly clothing practices. You can read all about their efforts HERE.
Athleta - Athleta is one of my favorite B-Corporations that is part of the Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic brand. The clothing here is really top notch and high quality, and it’s some of my favorite workout clothing to wear when I can invest.
H&M - I’ve personally never shopped at H&M but I know people who are obsessed with it. Come to find out, they have a “conscious” line on all of their items. It’s really easy to sort to find too! Go to Kids Clothing, and then sort by filters and quality - select “conscious” and you’ll pull up adorable, affordable, and organic items that fit into their more stringent requirements to be a part of their “conscious” line. You can read all about their efforts HERE.
Old Navy - I would NOT consider Old Navy a sustainable brand at this time. Currently I couldn’t find any organic clothing options here, or transparency about their current clothing lineup - However I included them on this list because they do have a sustainability pledge on their site that by 2022 they would source 100 percent of their cotton from more sustainable sources, AND they would make 100 percent of their denim products using water-saving techniques. Again, not currently walking the walk, but I’m hopeful they will be a more affordable option in the near future that has at least SOME sustainable products in their lineup.
Read about their brand initiatives around cotton sourcing and denim HERE.
There you have it folks! My roundup of some of the best ways to reduce your environmental impact on the world when it comes to clothing purchases. We may not be perfect, but there are small things we can do along the way to try and minimize our impact on the world and that almost always starts with voting with our dollars! Choosing to shop second hand or to support companies leading the way in terms of sustainability can show BIG fast fashion brands that we, as consumers, care about what we’re purchasing. Your voting with your dollars matters friend!