Sunday, July 6, 2008

thrift stores & fair trade

i am approaching a season of change. i want to be different. i'm trying new things. thinking a lot. and i'm pretty excited about where i'm going with all this. it makes sense in my head, but it's not all quite to the point where it would make sense if i wrote it down. one part i can verbalize is a pretty simple concept. but i bet it'll be harder to live out. i'm wondering if it would be possible for me to purchase only second-hand or fair trade clothing for the next year. i've been hearing and reading a lot about the benefit of fair trade and about how so much of what we buy is made by mistreated women and children in 3rd world countries who are forced to work in awful conditions. i'm not ok with that. but i am lazy. it's so much easier to go to the mall if i need... ok lets be honest, WANT something. but with the economy the way it is, it would save me so much money to shop second hand. and then after hearing todd's message this morning on james 5 i am convinced that spending lots of money on myself is helping no one (there are exceptions... like spending money on therapy for myself and an occasional massage... those are helpful). spending a little money on fair trade items would be helpful to others.

ok, so maybe this isn't that easy of a concept. again, it makes sense in my head. i'm going to keep thinking. but not too much longer because i want to be a do-er, not just a thinker.

2 comments:

rachelray said...

Glad to see you are advocating fair trade clothing. I work for a company called Fair Indigo and we also sell women's, men's, and baby apparel that are fair trade (and some organic). You can check us out at www.fairindigo.com! We would be happy to send you a free sample and answer any of your questions.

aleshaJdawson said...

you inspire me.
honest.
i love you :)