Ethical Suits!
Posted On: July 27
Hello, JustMeans community. The ethical consumer needs your help. I need to buy a business suit. And given that I might need to wear said suit quite a bit in the near future, I'm thinking of investing in a high quality new suit, instead of just finding any old second-hand suit at a charity shop.
Now, in my eco-nutty past, I have researched many things: ethical jeans, shoes, bags, make-up. I've figured out how to make a scrubby out of an old orange bag, and I found out where my cell phone goes when I take it to an e-waste site. But never have I had to research ethical suits.
A quick Google search reveals that there are a couple of companies that make eco-friendly tuxes for weddings, but there's very little that I found business attire-wise. While there are a couple eco-friendly suits out there, they are mostly men's suits. I only found one woman's pantsuit made out of hemp, and it's not particularly attractive.
So, does anyone have any suggestions? Any suits made from organic materials and/or using ethical labor practices? If not, I have to say, I think ethical suits might be a good business opportunity. After all, there's a strong market out there for eco-friendly jeans, undergarments, and casual wear. It's only a matter of time before "green" suits take the business world by storm.
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Megan MacDonald 29 July 2009 If you're willing to make the investment you might search for an etsy seller/tailor whose willing to find an organic blend of some sort and make a custom outfit for you. At least that way you can trace the materials involved - and I'm sure you could find someone on there who knows where to go for earth friendly textiles suitable for a suit.
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Ruchira Shah 29 July 2009 Cool, thanks Jeff. Great minds think alike! :)
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Jeff Trexler 29 July 2009 In catching up with my reading, just noticed your post after finishing my own on a similar theme! You're spot on with this--this is a real growth area right now, and I definitely second the vintage store recommendation.
In that regard, don't overlook the traditional thrifts--in NYC and DC, at least, shops such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, Housing Works and even the New York City Opera have become hotspots for designer goods. |
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Ruchira Shah 27 July 2009 Thanks, Mary. Good point. There are some upscale second hand stores in my area. I should check them out first.
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Mary Miche 27 July 2009 If you are in a big city, you may be surprised to find some really nice suits at some of the more upscale second hand stores. There are some that get donations from wealthy clients. Also, they sometimes take clothes on consignment. I donated a bunch of my old wool work clothes to one of the consignment shops when they got too small for me after my first pregnancy. Take a good look at what is available in the second hand market because you are definitely supporting recycling and reuse there.
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Mary Miche 27 July 2009 If you are in a big city, you may be surprised to find some really nice suits at some of the more upscale second hand stores. There are some that get donations from wealthy clients. Also, they sometimes take clothes on consignment. I donated a bunch of my old wool work clothes to one of the consignment shops when they got too small for me after my first pregnancy. Take a good look at what is available in the second hand market because you are definitely supporting recycling and reuse there.
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Ruchira Shah Justmeans News Writer |
Ruchira Shah was just your average young woman with a severe addiction to cute purses and high-end kitchen tools she never used, when one fine day, she decided to quit buying anything new. For a year. After twelve months of personal environmental experiments, Ruchi felt like she wanted to make a larger positive impact, so she decided to back to school, and is currently pursuing a masters degree at...















