I have though about this all day and decided to share. I learned a valuable lesson to me last year. My neighbor was trying to find a job without results. She had not worked on 14 years and it was tough. She applied a new discount store in our area. I usually do not shop there because they come in and small businesses suffer greatly. My neighbor got the job and this company trained and nurtured her. I saw her self-confidence soar and skills improve. She became a department manager in a matter of months. She has since found a job in the school system. I found out while she was there that this particular company tries to employ people that have been out of the workforce for awhile.
It is still not my first choice in shopping but I have a new found respect for the way they treat their employees.
Where we spend our money is a choice that we all have and we all have decide how to make those choices. For me I need to make my choices on how the individuals are treated in that company and how that company treats their customers.

So much to think about here! You never know the whole picture do you?

I've shared this before on YLF but my brother has worked at The North Face for many years, 30 I think. They have taken very good care of him, treated him well. I think Patagonia offered him a contract in the 90s but he stuck with TNF. I never asked him exactly why, but he is very loyal. I know they are bigger and more corporate as they are owned by Vanity Fair, whom he speaks highly of. He started as a field tester for their clothing and gear. That was a long time ago. If only fashion companies took this mindset of tweaking their goods after field testing. Note to Kit and Ace --a field-tested claim might work well with their technical fabric positioning.

Rabbit, I love that TJs is receptive to customer input. So is Costco. I've seen items re-stocked after leaving a note in the box. Plus it's reassuring to see the same employees there, year after year.

I agree with Angie that Karen Kane is a "good guy." And I personally love all of the premium denim manufacturers in LA. There are so many good ones with great quality products offering fit and longevity. Plus they have revived US denim manufacturing. You do have to be willing to pay the price though. I like Three Dots too, a woman started and owned company with consistent high quality, better than some of the competitors who I won't name 'cause we're keeping it positive.

I used to only buy domestic, European or Canadian clothing. I've since realized, it's so complex. I now understand:

• Just because something is made in the USA, doesn't make it good.
• Just because it's sold by a local shop, doesn't make it good. (Viva -- labor violations in my industry are rampant as well -- and they are often loved small businesses like in your story!)
• Just because it is corporate, doesn't make it bad. My local TJ Maxx has many of the same people working there since it opened in 2008. Doesn't that tell you something? TJ Maxx also has a woman CEO who was promoted from the ranks.

I am also a big user of Amazon. Who else can get such a range of items to someone in a town of 250 people? More than half of the things I order, like slotted spoons, menu covers, coffee urns etc., are not from Amazon, but by no-name smaller firms that let Amazon fulfill their orders. As a marketplace, Amazon is actually helping small firms grown their business.

Rachylou -- anyone who pays attention to New York City real estate (for whatever reason) will see immediately that this exact model you describe is very much in effect in Manhattan -- and now Brooklyn -- as well, only reversed. Extremely wealthy people from other countries, who don't plan to live in NYC but still want to own a place there, pay outrageous prices for apartments that then sit empty most of the year. Those prices in turn make the city unaffordable for a huge percentage of the American public.

The previous mayor of NYC saw that as an okay trade-off -- wealthy "residents" who don't actually live in the city pay huge taxes but use zero services, so the net gain is to the city -- but the current mayor disagrees.

And so it goes.

Net gain to City HALL. Huge problem out here too. All the towns are building for the wealthy and driving out actively the current populace. The people who actually maintain the city functions: Fire, police, waste management, teachers, food service...

You bet, RL. Huge issue in New York City.

Very Excellent Topic.

I have slowly but surely stop shopping a large retail stores. I don't know when It first happened. I have always shopped Thrift stores I order my undergarments and foundation pieces from a local company. I support artist made and up cycled or recycled clothing. I no longer support the mega charities. I shop at independent owned thrifts. I host clothing and jewelry Shops. I donate to smaller or independent owned thrifts. Shoes I do have to purchase but I am very comfortable with what I have in my wardrobe for now and some years to come.

I think sometime I am or was so wasteful in spending and purchasing. I began to see how much I could save and what I did not need. I began to look at what I consider the miss truths about how some charities are pocketing large amounts of monies or monies donated somehow are mismanaged. I began to look at how some of the corporate and for profit thrifts treated the employees and talking to the employees there has been a major and intentional shift in what I buy How I buy and When I buy,

I like who I am now when I choose to purchase from local artist or thrifted items or smaller charities where I can see the impact of what I am giving and or buying. I feel like I still keep current on fashion. But I was never able to follow the crowd. So I don't mind being out of step if I'm not in the latest or greatest. I hope I did not ramble to excessively.

ledonna , how great your shopping pattern now soothes your conscience and assists your local economy.

I try not to allow my political beliefs to interfere with my shopping. But what I do care about most is women's issues within the fashion industry. Being a plus sized woman I feel underrepresented and undervalued in the fashion industry. I will shop anywhere where there are plus sized clothes sold, and nowhere where plus sized clothes are not offered and that's not by my own choosing. You'd be amazed at how many stores do not welcome me. Lane Bryant is one of the only brick and mortar stores that I can shop in. I also try to avoid major department stores because they think it is totally appropriate to place the plus size section in a completely random part of the store away from the regularly sized clothing and most likely next to the furniture section. By shopping there I feel like I'm saying "that's ok that you don't want us front and center wth the regular women."

I do not support major fashion designers like Lagerfeld for example because of demeaning comments made about larger women and truly believe that clothes should be affordable, and selling a handbag for $5,000 for example is beyond ridiculous, I wouldn't buy it if I had it so I refrain from longing for shallow things like that.

I also boycott fashion magazines for similar reasons, the diet mentality has done so much damage that I cannot be a participant in any way.