Amending My Position

Tragic Sandwich

In 2013, the Rana Plaza factory collapse killed over 1,100 people who were just trying to get by, working in horrible–and ultimately deadly–conditions for horrible pay.

Since then, I’ve refused to buy new clothes from the stores that didn’t sign the Bangladesh factory safety plan. Most of them, though, have since agreed to compensate the families. So that’s something.

And selfishly, there are only so many ways that I can make my life challenging at once. Macys is one of the few places I can reliably find work clothing that fits me and my budget.

So while I’m not completely boycotting new clothes from those stores, I am trying to do a better job of reading labels and understanding what conditions are like around the world. Hopefully that way I can give my money to manufacturers that are, at least, not the worst of the worst.

I’m not entirely at peace with this, and I don’t think I should be. Maybe I should still be boycotting. But my energy is limited.

7 thoughts on “Amending My Position”

  1. I get that. Far too much.

    I’ve actually tried to avoid buying new clothing, entirely – between eBay and thrift stores, I get the majority of my clothing. It’s the only way the frugal side of me matches with the social activist inside of me.

    1. We buy most of Baguette’s clothes used, but it’s harder for me to find things that fit. Not impossible–but it takes more time, and that is one thing I don’t have more of.

      1. Oh, I get that. I truly do. Apparently, there aren’t a lot of tall, skinny guys in my area donating clothing.

  2. Clothing is one of the things I have a hard time making amends with. I know there are options, but clothes are so PERSONAL, not just style but fit. I wish I could just be fine with whatever I wear, but the vanity in me makes me buy clothes from stores that sell clothes that look good on me.

    Other things—farmers market, even makeup—are easier for me to buy more consciously, but clothes continue to be a challenge.

    1. I’m lucky that I work in a fairly casual office, and I have a high tolerance for fashion boredom–but things do wear out eventually and need to be replaced.

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