The Next Right Thing

Since coming back from Cambodia, it's been hard for me to know how to translate all that I learned and became passionate about there to my everyday life here.  Should I be doing more with trafficking?  Is there something else I can do for Cambodia?  Then a couple of months ago I was reading an article about trafficking, and at the end it said simply "Do the next right thing.  Then follow it with the next right thing after that."  That started to stir around in my head, and somehow in the last week or two I've been burdened by what I believe is my "next right thing", and that is paying more attention to the clothes that we buy.  Nothing earth-shattering, but it relates to Cambodia and trafficking, and it's just a good thing to do.

For anyone who doesn't know, my husband is... frugal, and that has rubbed off on me through the years.  We're a one-income family with two growing kiddos, so I've come to pride myself on filling a closet with clothes for minimal cash.  But I sometimes see "Made in Cambodia" on our clothing tags, and I remember the factories we drove by when I was there.  It's a complicated issue that I don't even pretend to fully understand - factories create needed jobs, and that is good, but the wages are paltry and the conditions aren't always good.  For example in Cambodia, some garment workers recently protested and went on strike to try to get a minimum wage of $160 a month.  Yes, you read that right.  And no, they were not successful.  I just don't think I can keep my head in the sand any longer and pretend that my purchases aren't feeding a system that harms real people.  (I could go into a lot more detail on why it's a problem, but that might be a whole other post.  It can be anything from slave labor and child labor to unsafe working conditions and low wages to who knows what else.  It's a mess, and trying to figure out who's guilty is even messier.  And lest you think it's just the $3 t-shirts at Wal-mart that are the problem, it happens across pretty much every price point.)

So how on earth does a family on a pretty strict budget move from our normal shopping at Target and clearance sales to ethically produced stuff?  I can tell you one thing, fair trade ain't cheap.  Shopping secondhand stores is a great way to bulk up the closet inexpensively to offset some of the pricier items.  The other thing I'm coming to realize is that we may all just have to do with fewer items in our closet.  It might mean more laundry but really, we'll survive.

I'm certainly no expert on this subject yet, but here's what I know after a few days of reading.  Anything made in the USA, Canada, or the UK is generally good news.  We have regulations, unions, minimum wage, etc.   It's not the easiest thing to find stuff made in the US anymore, but I was surprised to discover that Zulily carries a lot of brands that are made here.  If you search "made in USA" you'll end up with pages of things to choose from.  Zulily isn't my favorite because they're slow to ship and you can't return things, but their customer service is good and their stuff is darn cute.  And if nothing else, you can see what American brands they carry and then go directly to their websites to shop!  You can also do a "made in USA" search on nordstrom.com.

Here's a quick rundown of some other brands I've found that seem to be doing well in the ethics department.  Sorry I don't have a bibliography of sources for you to check, so you'll just have to trust that I saw it somewhere reliable.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a few places to start.  Take a deep breath before you start clicking links - remember this stuff can get expensive, but it's worth it!  I plan to shop the sales at the end of the season to avoid paying full price.

Underwear/Socks:
Hanes (also makes several other brands)

Swimwear:
Albion Fit - so gorgeous
Boden - Boden/Mini Boden were hard to find reports on, but they have a really robust ethical policy section on their website, so I'm saying they're good.  Plus it gives me an excuse to buy clothes there.
Lime Ricki - I love these swimsuits anyway because they are cute and modest.  I can't vouch for the factory conditions from any outside source, but their customer service department told me that they are manufactured in Mexico and that the factories have been toured by LR personnel to ensure that everything is on the up-and-up.  Sounds good to me.

Kids’ Clothes:
The aforementioned Zulily
Mini Boden
Teres Kids
Tea Collection
Monsoon - this stuff is ADORABLE (especially their swimsuits) and not too pricey!  Free shipping to the US too.
H&M and Zara are both on the iffy list, but it looks like they've made some positive strides recently toward better transparency and factory conditions. 

Shoes:
Timberland
Moo Shoes
Sseko Sandals - so cute and such a cool company!
Feelgoodz flip flops
New Balance - they get mixed reviews, but some are made in the USA and they seem to have extensive policies in place

Kids' Shoes:
(This was the hardest category.  I'm sure there are more decent brands out there but it was just hard to get information about most of the brands we usually buy.  Check sites like zappos.com to find these brands for cheaper than their retail sites.)
Kepner Scott - some of these are ugly but there are some cute styles
Pediped
Livie and Luca

And of course for accessories, handbags, toys, and other items there's always the post I made around Christmas time with lots more resources. 

So that's my goal, my "next right thing", to simply be more conscious of what we're wearing.  I know we will still buy the occasional thing at Target, and sometimes we'll need something specific that just isn't available in the fair-trade world, and that's okay.  If we all make some small steps together, we can make a difference!  I can promise that companies notice where we spend our money.  Another great step to take is to let companies know that the way they manufacture their products is important to you.  A quick email to their customer service department will do the job.

* Random side note - although this post is not about coffee, I did try to start buying fair trade coffee a couple of months ago and discovered Westrock Coffee.  They sell it at our Walmart, it's cheaper than Starbucks and it's truly the best coffee I've tried.  Go get some!  *

Do the next right thing. Then follow it with the next right thing after that.
Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy/modern-day-slavery-by-numbers#pv2zJD2AoDR1uF3m.99