lealou: out of line

Thursday, May 09, 2013

I'm not sure about you, but the tragedy that took place in Bangladesh really had an effect on me. I can't get my head wrapped around the idea that people around the world are putting their lives at risk, and dying, just so that we can get a t-shirt for $10 from [insert cheap retailer name here]. I have definitely had my head in the sand.

The whole blogger "Target style" of dressing has started to irk me for some time. I can count how many times on one hand I've walked into Walmart. But no matter where I go to shop, Made in ChinaBangladeshIndiaPakestanCambodia has been on the tags of stuff I've been buying for years. If you're mainstream shopping, it's hard not to avoid it.

I made a vow that I would try (this is not going to be easy people) to put more of an effort into thinking about the clothes I wear and the things I buy. I was thinking that I would only buy things made in Canada, but that's not really realistic or likely even possible at this point. For example, my mom just bought a blender that was made in China - are there really alternatives for that kind of stuff?

I've decided to start really slowly. I thought Etsy might be a good place to look for clothes and I've also done a tiny bit of research into Canadian retailers that make and sell yoga gear, for example, in Canada.

But I don't think I'll limit it to Canada if it's handmade however. There are individuals all over the world hand-making and selling some pretty cool stuff. Why not support them too?

Today I found a fun shop on Etsy called Out of Line based out of Seattle. I love these clothes. They are obviously more expensive than buying a Tee from Joe Fresh, but I think it's worth it. These clothes are made to order, so there's no mass production line and the styles are unique and fun.

Cute right?

I'm not sure how long this will last, but I feel like I need to at least try. If anything, I'll hopefully develop a good list of small retailers to refer to over time.

What do you think? Do you think I'm insane to even bother?

ps- today is the last day to enter to win a sweet crochet animal! Don't miss out!

2 comments:

Cathy5:50 PM
I wish you the best of luck in your search and am positive that the more you look for Canadian made the more you shall find. There are many Canadian made clothes,shoes and boots also jackets even underwear one just has to look search and inquire. It is something that we all need to do as it is the only way that we as Canadians can assure that there are Canadian manufactures be they large or small.
sulu-design5:32 PM
You're definitely not crazy to bother! I work for a woman who produces her own dress line in Portland, and there are tons of other designers producing in this city that make it possible to dress completely locally, if that's what one here wants. And beyond that, we're lucky to have lots of made in the US products at our disposal. Sadly, though, our country is a huge consumer of the products that are made overseas in unsafe factories. I don't think it's necessary to purchase items that are made in one's own country, but I do think we should make a serious effort to purchase items that are made in safe conditions under fair circumstances. That takes some time and energy to research (but, really, with the internet, it's not all that hard), but it's well worth it.