Category Archives: Fair to Others

Ethically Made Women’s Workwear

In this guest post, ethical fashion enthusiast Elizabeth Langefeld shares about the challenges she has faced finding ethically made workwear and recommends 12 sources for polished, office-ready looks!

Ethically Made Women's Workwear Recommendations | Fairly Southern. Work outfit inspiration, business casual, office attire.

The great thing about being in a book club is reading books I never would have found otherwise. Even if the book isn’t memorable, the discussion is.

Three years ago at one such meeting, Laura brought up that she had looked at the Slavery Footprint website and was changing the way she was shopping. I had long been trying to purchase items made in the USA to support families in our country, and I was concerned about the origin of my clothes made elsewhere but unsure of how to combat the issue. How could I reconcile the values I hold as a Christian with the often abusive practices of manufacturing? It felt overwhelming, but worthwhile, to find garments where I could trust that those in the production line had been paid fairly and were working in safe conditions.

Laura pointed me to a few sources, which helped me find more sources, and now I can’t imagine ever going back to my “old way” of shopping. I actually feel better when I’m in clothing from companies that pay workers a living wage. I’ve found that while the price point is a little higher, I’m buying items I love and am therefore buying less overall. My clothing budget hasn’t really changed, thankfully!

I’ve been very fortunate to not find it difficult to source items I like that are ethically made. Unfortunately, though, selection seems to be limited in the workwear category. While we are in an increasingly casual society, many of us do still need to look nice at work! On a given day in higher education, I may meet with a dean, attend a conference, or network with alumni. I don’t work in an office that expects suits (thankfully!), but for every “casual Friday,” I’ve got plenty of days to look nice.

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The Best Travel Pants: Athleta Headlands Hybrid Tight Review

Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored and is my unbiased, independent review.

The Best Travel Pants: Athleta Headlands Hybrid Tight Review | Fairly Southern

When I learned recently that Athleta is now a Certified B Corporation, I freaked. out. I had actually never shopped at Athleta before and only vaguely knew what they were all about, but I was over the moon excited to finally have an ethical big box store at our local mall!

A couple of weeks before my trip to Belize, I realized that my wardrobe was a bit lacking in outdoorsy gear. I needed some athletic tops, and I also wanted to find some cute, quick-dry athletic pants that I could wear out into the jungle but also feel good about wearing to dinner later in the day.

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Why Couples Need to Stop Having Children

Why Couples Need to Stop Having Children | Fairly Southern

The CDC recently announced that the U.S. fertility rate has dropped, with women having on average 1.8 children each. This number is low enough for negative population growth. Many news outlets and opinion articles have portrayed this information in a negative light, to which I strongly object.

For example, CNN reports that the executive director of the American Public Health Association is “concerned” about these new statistics. A Medium subheading discusses who is to “blame” for the declining fertility rate before then going on to call out other news outlets for sensationalist headlines (for example, Insider’s “The U.S. Is in the Danger Zone for a ‘Demographic Time Bomb’”). This negative language assumes (incorrectly, in my opinion) that a drop in the U.S. fertility rate is a bad thing.

Here is why the declining U.S. fertility rate is a good thing, and why those of us who are of childbearing age should personally strive to continue to keep the birth rate low.

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Why I Haven’t Bought New Clothes This Fall

Sometimes, ethical and sustainable fashion means NOT buying new clothes.

I haven’t shared many outfit posts on the blog lately because I haven’t been shopping much! I purchased quite a few cold weather tops and sweaters last year, so I honestly haven’t needed to do much shopping as the weather has changed this year. But I have to confess: I have felt anxious about not having any great new ethical fashion finds to post here on Fairly Southern.

Rust Colored Sweater for Fall - Why I Haven't Bought New Clothes This Fall | Fairly Southern

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Fair Trade Men’s Sweatpants for Fall

Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored and contains my unbiased opinions. If you use my 20% off discount link to place an order with Pact, I will receive Pact credits myself. Thanks for using the code and giving back to the person who is about to introduce you to an awesome brand!! 🙂 

Fair Trade Sweatpants for Men | Fairly Southern

Fall weather finally arrived in North Carolina this week. I get cold as soon as the temperature drops below 73 degrees, so I have immediately begun to transition my wardrobe to sweaters and my plans inside to the couch. Even my hubby, who is a shorts and t-shirt guy all the way, has been pulling out sweatpants this week. Thankfully, it is pretty easy to find him ethically made loungewear these days! Read More

5 Easy Ways to be Allergy-Friendly for Trick-or-Treaters

Preparing for trick-or-treaters who have food allergies doesn’t have to be scary! Read on for easy ways to have an allergy-friendly Halloween.

5 Easy Ways to be Allergy-Friendly for Trick or Treaters this Halloween | Fairly Southern

Has anyone else noticed how the number of kids with food allergies has skyrocketed over the past few decades? When I was in elementary school, I don’t remember a single child in my classes having a food allergy. Back then, our parents brought homemade cupcakes for school parties, and none of us had ever heard of the word “gluten.” But y’all, times have changed.

According to the CDC, the prevalence of food allergies in children increased 50% between 1997 and 2011. At least 1 in 13 children now has a food allergy.

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How to Buy Ethical, Sustainable Jeans

How to Buy Ethical, Sustainable Jeans | Fairly Southern

**Updated 2/1/19 to include J.Crew and Madewell fair trade jeans.**

When I first got into ethical fashion, jeans were not at the top of my shopping list. Because jeans tend to last longer than other clothing pieces, I find myself shopping for them less frequently. But since they are more of an investment piece, I try to be extra thoughtful about my purchase when I do shop for jeans. I want to find good quality, flattering jeans since I will be wearing them for years.

In this post, I’m sharing three different ways to shop ethically for jeans.  Whether you’re on a budget or have tons of money to spend, I can help!  Read More

Why I Buy Ethically Made

This post is part of my Why Series here on the blog. I often write about fair trade, eco-friendly, socially conscious living, but I am not always able to fully address in each of my blog posts WHY I choose to live this way. This series goes into greater detail about my why!

A couple of years ago, I became a big proponent of buying ethically made products. But what does ethically made even mean, and why is it important? And where can you find ethically made products? This post explains it all!

Why I Buy Ethically Made Products | Fairly Southern Read More

Plus Size Ethical Fashion Shopping Guide

 

Plus Size Ethical Fashion Shopping Guide | Fairly Southern

 

I’ll never forget the moment I realized that the ethical fashion movement is anything but plus size-friendly. A friend of mine had read one of my blog posts and was talking to me about how she thought fair trade was a really good idea. “But, what about plus size people like me?” she asked. “Is there stuff for us out there?”

I felt shame rising in my throat as I realized this was not something I had ever considered. My privilege and lack of awareness, however unintentional, was suddenly exposed. I frantically flipped back through every ethical fashion brand I could think of in my mind, realizing with disappointment that I had never seen any of them advertise plus size clothing. There were a grand total of ZERO brands that I knew of at the time that I could recommend to my friend.

Part of the problem was that there aren’t a ton of plus size ethical fashion options, and part of the problem was that I just hadn’t stumbled across any yet. If you’re a person who is plus sized and interested in transitioning to an ethical wardrobe, this post is for you! I have rounded up 26 stores and brands that sell ethically made plus size clothing–all gathered together in one convenient, alphabetized list!

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