Wednesday Walk: American Denim
Wednesday Walk: American Denim
The challenges of finding locally made clothing that isn't hundreds of dollars
Welcome to the Quarantine Creatives newsletter, a companion to my podcast of the same name, which explores creativity, art, and big ideas as we continue to live through this pandemic.
Every Wednesday, I share random thoughts and tidbits with links to let you do some exploring. I call these Wednesday Walks, as it’s the type of conversation we might have walking down a path in the woods- the topics are free flowing, sometimes related, sometimes not.
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Big Questions
My son is in kindergarten this year and his class just started a unit in science exploring solids, liquids, and gases. As I was tucking him in to bed last night, he had some big questions for me about this topic.
He asked me if gasoline was a gas. I explained that it was a liquid that we just refer to as “gas” even though it’s not a gas.
He then asked me what we were. Obviously we’re solid, and that’s what I told him. But the more I thought about it, we are also 60% liquid. So what does that actually make us?
You’d think kindergarten curriculum would be easy to answer, but it just proves to me that the world is a complicated place. In school, I was always taught that there was a right answer and a wrong answer, but in life, it sure seems like nothing is that certain.
#NoNewClothes- Week 7
In case you missed it, I was inspired by a conversation with Amory Sivertson a few weeks ago to try to not buy any new clothes this year. I’m approaching two official months of this challenge, and also had the first strong temptation to break it.
Ever since interviewing Amelia Pang last year about the issues around manufacturing textiles in China, I have been trying to seek out American made products whenever possible.
This was a challenge when it came to finding jeans, which are about the only pants I wear these days. I quickly learned that American made jeans were either insanely expensive and high end or they were basically non-existent. Wrangler was making a pair of affordable, American jeans, even sourcing U.S. grown cotton, but they were always sold out when I checked and then disappeared off their website several months ago.
Well, I happened to check Wrangler’s website at some point during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend of deals and it turns out that they had brought back their American made jeans. With added discounts for that weekend, it brought two pairs of jeans down to about $100. They were dark wash and boot cut, exactly the specs that I look for in new jeans. They even had a U.S. map on the button!
I happily added them to my virtual shopping cart. After all, it seems that U.S. grown and manufactured jeans at a good price might qualify as a special exemption from this No New Clothes challenge, right?
But before I entered my credit card, I looked down. I was wearing a pair of Levi’s that were less than a year old and still in really good shape. I had a second pair in equally good condition that I bought at the same time. Even if the jeans I was wearing didn’t have the same pedigree as the ones I was considering buying, they were still very functional and had plenty of wear left.
At that point, I decided that the whole point of this exercise is to consume less. A functional pair of jeans that still has lots of life shouldn’t be discarded just because there’s one that’s slightly more sustainable available.
I would link to the Wrangler jeans for anyone interested, but it appears that a week later, they have once again completely sold out. I can still view them in my shopping cart on Wrangler’s website, but with a message asking me to remove them from my cart, almost like they were a dream that never really happened.
I would have liked to purchase these jeans to support American growers and manufacturing jobs, but I feel good about my decision to ultimately consume less. Marketing messages are powerful, and we are always fed the idea that buying more will solve our problems. Being aware of that temptation and saying no to it has proven powerful to me, and I hope gives you all some food for thought as well.
No New Clothes Starter Pack
If you’ve been interested in reading about my lack of new clothes purchases lately but have been unable to dive head in first yourself, I wanted to pass along this interesting article from Allyson Chiu at The Washington Post:
Reader Jesse Hirsch passed this article along to me yesterday, and it offers some actionable and practical advice for those that want to consume less clothing. Here’s a few highlights:
“Instead of buying everything new, experts recommend trying to get the most out of what you already own. Extending the life span of your clothes through proper care and repair accomplishes that.
If you’re looking to add to your wardrobe, consider alternative ways to refresh your closet. If possible, experts suggest shopping secondhand from thrift or consignment stores or resale platforms, participating in clothing swaps, or renting clothes for special occasions.”
“Before you’re about to get something, take a moment to consider the purchase, [University of Leeds’s School of Design lecturer Mark] Sumner says. ‘Just stop and put the phone down, or stop and walk away from the cash register and ask yourself, ‘Why am I buying this?’’”
“Experiment with a capsule wardrobe, or a small collection of clothing that can be worn interchangeably to create a number of different outfits. If you’re adding to your closet, try to pick higher-quality items, experts say, but remember that price isn’t always a reliable indicator of how well clothing is made. Shop less for trendy styles or hues and choose more classic silhouettes and staple colors, such as black, brown, navy, gray or white.”
There’s a lot more great advice about shifting our mentality around the need for new clothes and being more purposeful in our purchasing. If this topic interests you, take a read!
Thank you for reading! I always love hearing your thoughts, so please drop a line in the comments. And have a great week.
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Other Wednesday Walks
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Stay Safe!
Heath
You inspired me with the no new clothes project. I had a professional Christmas dinner to attend last Friday. I have plenty of professional attire, but nothing sparkly and “festive”, so off to the store I went. While I was there I started to question spending the money, remembered your challenge and decided to head to the thrift store for a sparkly necklace (which they had in abundance for $4.99) to make what was already in my closet more festive.