Be the Change

I've found it's gotten really hard to buy clothing manufactured in this country. We don't really make anything here anymore. See, there are laws that keep companies from exploiting American workers so those corporations get around it by firing American workers and exploiting workers in foreign countries instead.

And for some reason, we're still allowed to buy those products. We try not to think about it when we see a $2 shirt. What a bargain! We don't consider the human cost. It's a really cute shirt.

Last week, John Oliver tackled this issue in a way only he can. I hope you'll watch the video because he explains it so much better than me. This problem didn't go away. We just got tired of thinking about it.

The truth is that American-made clothing often costs more. That extra money you're paying is the real cost of getting that thing without mistreating other human beings. It's the price of being a good person.

It's hard, I know. My New Year's resolution was to buy only American made clothing. So far I've purchased five items, including a pair of True Religion Jeans on Amazon for $60. (They're usually $200, but I waited for them to go on sale. You can put US made items on your wish list and wait for the price to go down.) Amazon lets you search for things with "US Made" as the criteria.

Mostly, buying American clothing on a budget means purchasing things less often. When I see that adorable $2 shirt, I know I can't have it. My wardrobe is smaller, I do laundry more often. I wear things until they actually get holes in them. 

And today, I designed this American made t-shirt, because tackling the bigger problem is going to take bigger solutions: