Sustainable shopping with Shopethica

January 23, 2019

The other day at work I was approached by one of my students asking me to answer a few questions for his Spanish class. I thought the interview would be related to culture or language, but instead he proceeded to ask me questions about the environment and what I was doing to help it. Was I recycling? What kind of produce did I shop for? I was pleasantly surprised at how aware he was of these issues and the type of questions he was asking me. It truly made me think about what I was doing to live sustainably. I was happy I was able to answer most of his questions with things my husband and I do every day to help the environment, but it also made me realize we could do so much more.

This resonated with me. For the next few days I was thinking about my carbon foot print more seriously, making sure I didn’t forget my reusable shopping bags on my trip to the grocery store. I even watched a documentary about minimalism, and a few episodes of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. I was ready to take another step towards living sustainably. I figured I would probably not change my car for an electric one or stop driving all together any time soon, but I could start with something I was comfortable with.. my closet. So I decided I would take a more serious approach to the way I shop for clothes and what I keep in my closet in general. With the help of Marie Kondo’s tips, I started by cleaning out my closet of anything I didn’t absolutely love. While I was completing this process I realized I have soooo much from Forever 21. Not that there’s anything wrong with shopping there, but it got me thinking of the materials they use, the workers that make the clothes and the whole process in general. I have thought about this before, but continue to shop at stores that are not doing their part in this global crisis. Furthermore, we are either uneducated on the issue, or simply choosing to ignore it, making it even harder to see any change.

So, yes I’m having a dilemma because as much as I want to completely replace everything in my closet for ethically made clothes, I know I can’t right away. I know this will be a process and it will take a whole lot of will power to say “stop buying cheap clothes, save that money for a quality piece of clothing”. It’s going to be a hard habit to break (buying cheap clothes), but it’ll be even more rewarding to know I’m doing a little bit more for the environment.

So in the midst of all this, I got an e-mail from Shopethica about receiving a piece of clothing from them. I read the e-mail rather quickly, but there were several words that stuck out to me as they were describing their company… “ethical, sustainable, environmental responsibility”. I thought I was dreaming. I was just thinking about this. I browsed their website and fell in love with their aesthetic and selection of merchandise, and to tell you the truth, I was very excited about working with them. I was sent their Organic cotton Phantom tunic, which was the perfect addition to my work wardrobe. I immediately paired it with black leggings and pointy heels for a polished look. I wore the tunic two ways, by tucking it in and adding a blazer for the first look, and then unbuttoning some of the buttons and adding a belt for a little more of an edgy vibe in the second look.

I am excited to be starting this new journey of shopping ethically. It’s so refreshing to know there is something more we can do to improve the way we shop. I’m not saying I will only shop for clothes made ethically, but I will make sure the majority of my clothes are. If you’re interested in doing the same, Shopethica is a great place to start. You can be sure every single thing they sell was made ethically. Also, their items are high in quality (and it shows)! I’m also sharing an article that features several affordable ethical brands, in case you are interested in doing a little more for the environment.

Current favs from Shopethica…