From my experience and probably from every other parent out there, children go through clothing quickly so spending a lot of money on clothes that rarely get worn is not worth it. Think about the COST PER WEAR/USE when buying an item. How much use will you get out of it for the price that you pay? The past few months I’ve learned where to find the best secondhand baby clothes and I’ve listed them below. Buying secondhand is a great way to save money and save resources in the end.
Read moreSustainable Baby: Just Between Friends Sale Haul
Sustainable Baby: Just Between Friends Sale Haul
I am trying to do my best to make this process as sustainable as possible. Since this is my first child, I’m still navigating what’s really necessary from the mesh of baby must-haves and lists available on the web. I attended a Just Between Friends Sale to find some good, quality secondhand items for baby to use. Here’s what I got:
Read moreSustainable Maternity Wear: What to Wear Before, During and After Pregnancy Without Spending A Fortune
Sustainable Maternity Wear: What to Wear Before, During and After Pregnancy Without Spending A Fortune
As I am now in my 20th week of pregnancy, I thought I would track how I am dressing my growing belly. My goal with this pregnancy, my first one which is exciting is to keep it as low cost and low waste as possible. Of course, I am not sacrificing my overall health or the baby’s health, but I am being mindful with how and where we spend money. It’s so easy to get caught up buying the latest maternity wear and being on trend, but it’s not necessarily the most sustainable on the wallet or the planet. After all, pregnancy really only lasts a few months and some items will get as much as a few weeks to a few months wear so putting in loads of money and buying all new stuff doesn’t seem like a good sustainable practice. New stuff also always means excess packaging and exposure to chemicals due to the manufacture of the clothing so the less exposure the better. So with some research and some out-of-the-box thinking, here’s how I’ve been managing my maternity wear. Of course, I will update this as my belly grows and my body changes to see what other resources I am tapping into.
Read moreHow I Feel About Thrift Shops and Secondhand Goods
How I feel about thrift stores and secondhand goods
Growing up in the Philippines, we weren't necessarily poor. My parents worked for a multi-national corporation, we had a nice house and we went to private Catholic school. From what I remember, Sundays were usually market days and part of market day is "ukay ukay". Ukay ukay is secondhand clothing from the Western world that make its way to the Philippines. Originally, they were meant as donation from first world to third world countries. At some point, it became a business and clothes. Secondhand clothing is a large part of the economy in third world countries. It has its pluses and minuses. First it supports the creation of micro businesses, second it provides affordable clothing and three it supports reuse. The downsides are it hurts local business sometimes especially those that want to produce and create their own clothing. It also leads to waste as this can sometimes be the last resort for textiles. If no one wants them at this point, it's very rare that they are shipped to another country to be recycled.
Read moreZero Waste: Closet Transition
Transitioning and living a zero waste life means working with your closet in order to extend the life of your existing clothes or find ways to purchase clothing that is less harmful to the environment. Taking on a minimalist attitude towards your wardrobe could be a good start to escaping the fast fashion cycle.
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