One of the most common requests I get from readers is for tips on how to shop for consignment clothing. Y’all know I love shopping consignment! It’s a great way to get the look you want for less, all while being good to the earth!
Read MoreA guest post by Mick Schulte
As a mother of four with a set of twins in the mix, focusing on the sustainability of products in our home is a fairly recent development for me. To be completely honest, when I had my kids, I didn’t think much about the impact of their lives on the world’s resources. I was more focused on diving into the major life experience of motherhood. I dreamed of cute family pictures with all of us in perfect outfits, looking coordinated, but not matchy matchy, and living the happily-ever-after life most people think of when they’re just starting out.
Then I had my kids and realized happily-ever-after is complicated.
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Friends, we are about to leap into a BIG week for sustainability and social justice. Monday, April 22 is Earth Day, and April 22-28 is Fashion Revolution Week!
There are lots of ways to honor both of these occasions. Here are a few ideas for both Earth Day and Fashion Revolution Week:
Read MoreThis post was written for my church’s series on fasting. Each week of Lent, the church focuses on a different item for fasting (food, clothes, waste, etc.). During the week focused on clothing, church members are encouraged to fast from clothing in some shape or fashion. Examples include wearing only two outfits the entire week, cleaning out unused clothing and donating it, or fasting from buying new clothes for the duration of Lent. I personally encourage fasting from buying fast, exploitative fashion, not just during Lent, but as a lifelong goal. Read on to find out more!
We tend to envision fasting as a practice of recentering our hearts around God rather than some other object (in this case, clothing). We often treat clothing as an idol, coping mechanism, and giver of self-worth, when God should be those things instead. Working on our personal relationship with clothing and God is an important thing to do this week, but in this reflection I want to focus on a different aspect of fasting: A change in our hearts that results in social action.
I’m not going to lie: This reflection discusses difficult things, like the role we personally play in human trafficking. But if there’s any group willing to dig deep and not turn away from hard topics, it’s my church family. So let’s jump in!
Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored and is my unbiased, independent review.
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.
Read MoreTomorrow, we say farewell to 2018! It has perhaps been my favorite year of blogging yet. I have blogged weekly (a consistency I have never before attempted) on some of my absolute favorite topics!
To celebrate a wonderful year of blogging, I’ve pulled the top five most frequently visited blog posts on Fairly Southern in 2018. Starting with number 5:
Read MoreSometimes, 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.
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!
It is no secret here on Fairly Southern that I LOVE a good upscale consignment shop. We’ve chatted about how to choose the perfect pair of consignment jeans, find a preowned wedding dress, get your Lilly Pulitzer fix ethically via secondhand shopping, and much more. Ever wondered why I think consignment shopping is so important? Here you go: Read More
**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
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!