31 Days of Green Little Things: Buy Natural Clothes

Welcome back to my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is my place to talk about the little things that I do to help the environment.      

Remember that trip I just took to Wyoming?  Well, I needed new socks.  I needed short, ankle socks that I could wear with my trail/hiking shoes.  I knew I needed them because when we went hiking last December in Puerto Rico, the socks I had were “quitters.”  (“Quitters” is Mr. Green Stuff’s name for socks that no longer stay up.)  Less than a mile into the rainforest, my socks were lost somewhere near the arch of my foot.  Nowhere near my heel!  My options were to go without socks or keep pulling them back up every 5 minutes.  Obviously, I needed new socks.

The problem with needing new socks is that it’s really hard to find any without synthetic material these days.  (The fact that I forgot I needed them until two days before our trip didn’t help either.)  I wanted socks made out of natural material so I searched all over town.  I really wanted wool or organic cotton, but I was willing to settle for anything without polyester/plastic.  This was hard.  Impossibly hard.  Here’s what I ended up buying:

Cute, huh?

I usually avoid big brands and logos whenever possible but these were the best option.  It turns out they are made with 80% cotton AND made in the US.  That was as close to a win as I could get.  The rest had a least 50% synthetic fabric and had to cross an ocean to get to my local store.

That’s when I remembered why I hadn’t ever gotten around to buying new socks.  The options sucked!  And now that it’s getting cooler around here, I’m noticing that almost all my socks are in need of replacement.  I’m sure my yoga students secretly laugh when they notice that the heels of my socks are transparent.  My plan is to buy these:

www.maggiesorganics.com

They are organic, made in the US, and even in my color scheme.

Anyway, to wrap up this post, I try to buy the most natural clothing I can find... and only when I need something.  Then when I make the best decision available at the time, I try not to feel guilty about the fact that it wasn’t “perfect.”  Remember this about the little things not the guilty things. ;)

Next time you (really) need something, search for natural materials.  Let me know what you find!

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party.  Thanks for the motivation to join this year.
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