We have been making adjustments to our lifestyle recently, based on Arlo’s love for nature and his new found responsibility for being eco – friendly. He has been learning about pollution at pre-school and we have also been learning about recycling too. I’m not going to pretend to be an earth mother, I still have a long way to go before I can claim that we are a sustainable family so right now my focus is on making as many small changes as we can.
This kind of decision requires taking a long hard look at the kind of lifestyle we lead and trying to figure out where we can make changes, and so we have switched to reusable straws, and water bottles. We have switched to a green energy company and we have planted flowers for bees and butterflies in the garden. These kinds of fun projects do contribute in a small way and help educate Arlo but when it comes down to it, focusing on the products we purchase and researching their manufacturing, packaging and general Green policies is a new way of thinking for us.
So alongside the food we eat and cleaning chemicals we use the one main thing we need to focus on is our clothing. This is a tough one for us because I have a diverse wardrobe. I will spend money on timeless classic pieces which will be worn many times but I also have “fast fashion” items of clothing which have a short lifespan and often come with questionable ethical manufacturing histories. From the very beginning with Arlo I started to fill up his wardrobe and every time he out grew an age category I would spend hours sorting through clothes.
Back then on maternity pay it made sense to sell some of the better pieces of clothing he had which retained their value and donate the rest. I quickly learnt to shop around for clothing which was a better quality, when it comes to something as simple as a white baby vest, you can go through dozens in a week. You can buy packs of five for a couple of pounds from a fast fashion retailer, or you can shop around. I think by the time Arlo was around six months I learnt the value of organic cotton.
I also started to look at handmade clothing, I wanted him to have unique outfits and stand out from the crowd, but I also didn’t want to irritate his skin with polyester and cotton blends and I found that many small business owners established themselves because of similar needs and it made sense to shop with small business owners who had transparent manufacturing processes and who could provide high quality clothing. This is when I first learnt about bamboo textiles.
The added bonus now is that due to the rise in popularity of social media it’s easy to source clothing for children using hashtags on Instagram and there’s a market for resale of clothing with dozens of Facebook groups dedicated to parents who help extend the lifespan of children’s clothing. So all of this is great but where does it leave adults?
Over the last year I’ve learnt that I don’t really need to rely on fast fashion, I’ve been putting comfort to the top of my priorities whilst working from home, and with non essential retail closed for the best part of twelve months I’ve figured out which items in my wardrobe last longer, wash well and feel great too. I certainly don’t feel as though I need a new outfit for every single occasion and have learnt that it is worth investing in clothing which feels great to wear, not just because of the way it looks but because of the way it’s made.
Bamigo’s casual bamboo T-shirts have many features that distinguish them from other shirts. Alongside the subtle details and the unique composition of the fabric, you can expect the trademark quality and comfort you expect from Bamigo products. Excellent breathability and added length contribute to an unparalleled fit and feel. In short, you get comfort, softness and elegance all in a superior T-shirt with a relaxed fit.
This is just one more small conscious change that I can make as a consumer to make sure that my impact on the world has as small a carbon footprint as possible. There’s still a long way to go but it’s one small step at a time which counts in the long term, for Arlo and for all the other children who will inherit the world we leave behind.