One of the most common suggestions I get here at Thistle HQ is to donate and buy my clothes from thrift stores. Well, I’ve already pledged to only invest in local apparel, preferably made from organic cotton, bamboo or other sustainable material and manufactured in a fair-trade environment, not to mention eco-friendly shoes and jewellery. But today I’m officially adding used clothing to the list.
Back in high school, I’d always make trips to Goodwill for ironic T-shirts, worn-in jeans and cords, boy cardigans and whatever else I could pile into the cart. The whole concept of buying clothes by the pound appealed to me immensely, as it meant I could save money for other important things, like my well-balanced breakfast throughout Grade 11: Cool Ranch Doritos and a Coke Slurpee (sorry, Mum).
But it’s just as important to give as receive, so I’m going to make sure that whenever I go through my closet to clear out all the fashion mistakes and redundant black halter tops, I set aside all the stuff that’s in decent condition and make the trip (by bicycle, of course) to Goodwill. Anything else that’s leftover, I can always turn into dishrags or hankies or something.
Okay, it’s nit-picking, but you don’t actually “invest” in clothes: I have heard this term used many times for purchases (whether green or otherwise) and it always bothers me. Are you expecting a return on your investment? You buy clothes and other goods. You invest in things that will deliver returns. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/invest
To be fair, perhaps it is time that we start seeing our purchases more like investments. Just because they don’t give financial returns does not mean they don’t give ANY returns. Purchasing local goods gives returns to the local economy. Purchasing organic foods gives returns to the environment. So maybe it is time to start calling some of our purchases investments (and perhaps that is what you meant).
You can even bring the not-so-great-condition stuff to donate to Goodwill if you don’t need more rags or hankies. They recycle the “salvage” quality stuff.