ending my SYC 3 months early - YouLookFab Forum

I had decided to SYC starting July 1 and going through the end of the year. I’m now deciding it’s time for me to go back into the shopping world a bit earlier than planned.

BUT, this is not without some new rules for how I shop. In my original post, I said “I have bigger financial priorities (mostly paying off my undergrad student loans) and more important ethical concerns (human rights, labor rights, environmental sustainability, and conscious consumerism).”

In terms of finances, part of the problem was the way I was budgeting. I came up with a new plan in Mo’s thread (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....r-wardrobe) where it’s less about cost per month, and more about how many new items I get per year, and what’s reasonable to spend on each type of item. This will allow me to focus more on what’s reasonable for me to be buying and spending, and less focused on a schedule for how much I spend when. It also helps that last month I paid off one of my undergraduate loans (I still have one from my first three years, but I paid off the senior year, which was a separate loan)! I’m feeling better about my financial plan, and my ability to stick to a budget that works for me.

For the ethical concerns, I’ve decided to focus on buying clothes that are a better fit with my ethics. I’m going to try to buy even more that is vintage/pre-owned, straight from the designer, organic with non-toxic dyes, etc. I looked into the stores I buy things from on goodguide.com, and I’m not getting any more new clothes from jcrew or anthropologie. This will be a bit of an adjustment, but I can still buy their items second hand, and this will be a lot easier on my wallet.

So, when shopping, my first choices will be: used, vintage, etsy shops, REI, Patagonia, and a bunch of small eco online retailers that I’ve found. (And no, I won’t be getting a lot of clothes from REI and Patagonia, but I do have a great Patagonia dress that I bought at REI.)

Second choices are H&M, Gap, and Banana Republic.

Last choices are Ann Taylor, Loft, Zara, Nordstrom, Zappos, and Amazon.

The no way stores are American Eagle, Anthropologie, Forever 21, J.Crew, as well as American Apparel (because of their models and advertisements).

I’m hoping that with this new plan my habit will be sustainable, and I won’t feel the need to SYC again to “reset” the way I shop. I may go a month or two or three without shopping if I’m not finding what I need, but will also have the freedom to have big spending months. Even though I still don’t have any true shopping needs, these new guidelines will allow me to continue developing my style in a controlled way that I feel good about!

12 years ago

elpgal

Veteran

Kate, Congratulations on paying off your loan; that must be a relief.

If you feel comfortable, can you share your reasoning behind this hierarchy of retail stores. I shop at a lot of the stores you mention and I am curious.

Kate

Of course, I should have included that in the original post!

Mostly it's based on rankings at http://www.goodguide.com/categ.....##products They explain the categories and how everything is ranked on the website.

I bumped up Zappos, Nordstrom, and Amazon due to their customer service. I bumped down American Apparel because I have huge issues with the pervasive almost-nudity on their website and in their marketing.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Off to investigate! Thank for the link, Kate.

Is custom tailoring something that you have considered?

Laurinda

I'm also trying to make more ethical choices, and thought you might appreciate this info on Amazon.com's warehouse workers. It sounds like 'Grapes of Wrath' in 2011: "...Other workers said they experienced brutal heat inside the sprawling warehouse during the summer heat waves. Amazon even arranged to have paramedics parked in ambulances outside, ready to treat workers who dehydrated or suffered other forms of heat stress." http://community.seattletimes......5&

CocoLion

(website)

Congratulations Kate! I love the way you think things through.

What matters most to me is where the items are made! I have a huge preference for clothing made in the USA, but it's often more expensive.

And yes big employers like Amazon can be stupid about things like not opening doors or providing ventilation or cooling systems during a record heat wave. But let's remember they are giving someone a job.

ETA: I checked out the GoodGuide and am pretty shocked that one of the metrics was not where the product was made. Does employing people in the US not matter? (I promise you I am not a member of the Tea Party, lol! Quite the opposite.)

elpgal, I have made my own skirts, and modified other clothes to fit me better. I haven't really looked for a tailor in town since I've done all of my own alterations. I have found a lot of stores on etsy that will make items to fit the buyer, but have yet to actually buy anything from them. I will soon!

Laurinda, thanks for sharing! I have very mixed feelings about Amazon. I'm a big fan of the free/discounted prime shipping for students, their customer service, their wishlist function, and of course all of the customer reviews. However I'm well aware of how awful many aspects of their corporation are. Unfortunately, it's also not much better than similar stores (Walmart, Target, etc), so I end up turning to Amazon for a lot of basic stuff around the house (recent purchases include a sweater stone, silicone baking mats, a sunshade for the car, and organic USA sugar) as well as used books. It's certainly my last choices for clothes and shoes, and I have yet to actually buy and keep any shoes I bought on Amazon (or buy any clothes).

CocoLion, I agree that buying things made in the US is important, and is definitely a criteria I take into consideration even if goodguide doesn't! The items I've bought since June are a vintage skirt made in the USA, vintage belt made in NYC, organic fair trade jeans from India, and organic jeans from Canada. Unfortunately, my new Dansko shoes are made in China, but at least the company tries to be philanthropic in other ways (I know that barely helps). If you know of any good shoes that are made in the USA, please let me know! So far the closest I've gotten are Canada and Italy, then one pair from Brazil and the rest are all China.

Lynne

Wow, Kate, I am impressed on many fronts.

First, thay you SYCed for 3 months, and did your 'reset'. That is no small feat.
Second, that you have worked through what is important to you and how that translates to your everyday choices.

As I was reading, I couldn't help but think how quality, long lasting items would also comply with your ethic; if you reduce the replacement cycle of clothing items it makes a big impact to your environmental footprint?

rosee

A lot of relevant points were made on this Kate's previous thread, so I won't repeat it all here:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....opping-ban

With Banana Republic (and Gap and Old Navy, all owned by the same parent company), i know that they have improved their profile quite a bit from the past but they are still controversial to me as they have had several complaints about not allowing third-party monitors to evaluate their conditions. The Gap companies were busted a while back for putting "Made in the USA" tags on their items when in fact they were made by Filipina indentured workers in the Mariana Islands (a US protectorate in the Pacific) and these women suffered several abuses. They did this to appeal to the US consumers wanting to buy US products.
It's really still a mine field, but kudos Kate for bravely trying to walk through it.

Rosee, from what I can find (and I haven't looked too hard) it seems like Gap Inc. has improved recently. They are one of 2011's most ethical companies, according to one think tank (http://ethisphere.com/wme2011/), which is a huge change from how they were 10 years ago. They're still far from perfect (as is H&M), but it's nice to know that they're making an effort.

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