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Kids alternatives to fast fashion

What is fast fashion?

The comparison of ‘fast fashion’ to ‘fast food’ gives you, the consumer, a crash course of what exactly fast fashion is; fashion produced quickly, without thought to sustainability. Designs are copied from the catwalk at top speed in order to capture current fashion trends and just like fast food, there is a toll to your health and our environment.

Green Peace has been testing major brands and finding many of the hormone disrupting chemicals we’ve been trying so hard to avoid. This shocks parents, especially those who have been detoxing their homes to keep their children away from phthalates, lead, and other chemicals of concern. How can we avoid the chemicals without breaking our bank accounts on organic cotton clothing?

How do we avoid fast fashion?

I’ve have always shopped with a different set of rules when it comes to clothing. Just like sourcing clean food, finding quality clothing just felt right, but I couldn’t articulate why. Then one year ago, there was a factory building collapse in Bangledesh, where over a thousand factory workers lost their lives due to working conditions. The faces behind some of our clothing emerged and we saw one of the true costs of cheaply produced fashion. And the financial reasons behind cheaply produced clothing made sense to me. There is a cost to that $2 t-shirt and we saw the faces of people desperate to work who earn only $38 per month.

So there are social reasons as well as environmental and health concerns – this is the dark side to fast fashion. And the appeal for finding alternatives to fast fashion has never been easier or more abundant.

  • Local: local clothing designers are making a resurgence, organic clothing and buying second hand fashion removes all of the mystery of where to purchase slow fashion.
  • Thrift: when you are buying second hand clothes, you are saving the original production and simplifying the problem of over consumption in our closets. Second hand clothing has less chemicals normally associated with new clothing because they have already been washed multiple times. So while we spend the extra money on brands with sustainable clothing practices, my family has always supplemented most of our children’s clothing with hand-me-downs and second hand clothing. Good news parents – there is a way to be sustainable with fashion without breaking the bank.

To help give you inspiration when it comes to upcycling and resusing clothes, here is a fun contest to win this handmade hoodie from MuggaBug (fits 18 months to three years old).


We are big fans of MuggaBug and she put together this whimsical hoodie that is made from her fabric stash and upcycled shirts from the thrift store. This is such a special clothing piece that has all the components of slow fashion.

Please like the MuggaBug Facebook fan page and enter to win it below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Suzanne is a green living activist and blogger over from Mommy Footprint. Her passion for raising her children in suburbia & a not-so-secret desire to own chickens keeps her balanced with realistic Eco living goals. Sharing knowledge about the environment, our food system, and ways to avoid landfill waste is her passion. Suzanne loves life in the tri-cities with her husband and four children. Follow her journey on Twitter @mommyfootprint.

8 Responses to “Kids alternatives to fast fashion”

tennille

I buy and sell a lot of kids clothes on a local FB group here in Kelowna

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Tanya Gruszeccki

I love upcycling clothing for my kids.

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Paula

I try to avoid chemicals around my children at all costs, but clothing never crossed my mind. I’m glad a huge chunk of my children’s clothes are hand me downs. I knew those $4 tops from Walmart were cheap for a reason!

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Changeroo.ca

Shop online at Changeroo.ca for used, like-new children’s clothing and maternity wear at a fraction of the cost. You can also send us your outgrown clothing in exchange for store credits; visit our website, order a free bag, then request a pickup at your convenience.

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Carmen Mason

I love Janets work 🙂 I have a skirt from her that my daughter (and I!) Love. We are always thrift shopping and exchanging clothes with other mum friends 🙂

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Jolan

Love the idea and the hoodie is great !

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Barbie S

I Love this article. I buy and sell a lot of kids clothes on a local FB group here on PEI as well a some great local thrift shops.I have to say I have found some awesome finds over the years 😉

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Barbie S

Shop thrift stores all the time, I love the thrill of the chase.

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