Today, if you go shopping, it means that you have actually found a gap of a few hours in your busy week schedule. You rush down town looking for good shoes and clothes for your children. When you finally made a choice and you come to the point that you have to pay the bill, you will ask yourself if the price is right… and you will probably also wonder who made this product, where it was produced, and in which conditions....
The choice for the product will be up to you, of course, but in order to answer the other questions you might have, I hereby give you a few tips and good addresses.
To be honest…. I (Eléonore) almost never (!) go shopping, both for the right and the wrong reasons. But the two most important ones are:
a. It is not really relaxing to go shopping with three little boys;
b. I have (correction: HAD) no idea where it is worthwhile to shop.
But a while ago, I met with a girlfriend in town, without children. We had a wonderful lunch and after that we went window shopping. And right there – I am almost ashamed to admit it – my eyes were opened. Sustainable (children’s) clothing can be found easily, even with brands of which I just assumed that they had their products made in China or India through child labor!
Here are a few examples:
DEPARTMENT STORES
DEPARTMENT STORES
At C&A: the Bio Katoen collection. The collection contains children’s clothing, but also ladieswear, menswear, lingerie, home and garden articles. Visit www.wehkamp.nl and look for “bio katoen” in the search engine of the site. The outcome will surprise you. Listen to this video to hear what they have to say about it.
At Hema: the Naturally Hema collection. Exactly what you expect to find at Hema, but produced in a sustainable way to create awareness among the customers.
At H&M: the Conscious Collection was launched on 14 April 2011. Here you can find an introduction and a price list. To show you that sustainable can also be very trendy and modern, you can find out here how Nathalie Portman looks in a dress of the H&M Conscious Collection!
Mango is Made in Green: This label guaranties that all articles have been produced with consideration for the environment and human rights. Mango articles are available in their shops and at the webshop of V&D.
Primark is an Irish clothing retailer, operating in Ireland, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. They sell high fashion items at very low prices. Primark has a key concern to source ethically and is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). Primark is very clear about where it stands on business ethics. 'As an international brand with a global supply chain we have a responsibility to act ethically. We embrace this responsibility as an opportunity to be a great force for good. Primark is committed to providing the best possible value for our customers, but not at the expense of the people who make our products.' In other words, this means making sure that, throughout the supply chain, Primark's goods are manufactured under good conditions and the employees in those factories are treated well.
Mango is Made in Green: This label guaranties that all articles have been produced with consideration for the environment and human rights. Mango articles are available in their shops and at the webshop of V&D.
SECOND HAND STORES
Heleboel, Hertogstraat 2 in Eindhoven, sells second hand children’s clothing and toys. For trendy moms Nogges (Leenderweg 357, Eindhoven – tel. 040 211 2626, open from Wednesday to Saturday from 10h00 to 17h00) offers second hand (designer) cloths.
Pay also a visit at the kids wear outlet shop Simone in Aalst-Waalre (mob: 06 16007063): they opened last june with a wide choice of nice brand clothes!
Pay also a visit at the kids wear outlet shop Simone in Aalst-Waalre (mob: 06 16007063): they opened last june with a wide choice of nice brand clothes!
WEBSHOPS
- Take a look at the webshop of Vanilja where they offer second hand children’s designer clothing. They can also sell your vintage cloths that are in perfect condition and you can buy new ones there. The shop is very organized and offers designer brands such as McGregor, Esprit, Vingino, Ralph Lauren, Benetton, Mexx, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc,. at affordable prices.
When we lived in Japan, I bought a lot of cloths at Uniqlo (for myself and my children). These are casual cloths that are made in Japan. They offer a whole variety of colors. What are they doing about sustainability? They collect old Uniqlo clothing and recycle them. 10% is used for production of new clothing and 90% is distributed among refugees and disaster victims. They work together with the Grameen Bank (Bangladesh micro credit bank) and they invest in R&D to develop Heattech clothing.
Beside all the above possibilities, you can also do some eco shopping online! I myself just love the online store of Hip en Eco where you can achieve all the sustainable brands of children’s clothing.
Other webshops are: Ekodepeko, Wat Mooi, en Lotika (where you can buy a.o. Fair Trade Sneakers).
Along this Sustainable Shopping Route, you can find a lot of shops that sell second hand clothing.
If you really want to take on a challenge, you can join the Free Fashion Challenge! 365 days WITHOUT shopping to rediscover your creativity and personal style. To me, Viv, a whole year seems impossible, but I took on the challenge without subscribing, allowing myself two shopping trips to Antwerp, to shop for my favorite Belgian brand. But for the very brave among us: you can sign up for your shopping sabbatical here! We would love to hear about your experiences; let us know!
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