The Accidental Environmentalist
Years ago when I bought this children's consignment store I thought it was just a neat store in Boulder, CO. It was a smart career switch to allow more flexibility over my time as I raised my girls into their teens as I had been an NICU nurse for the past 16 years and worked in the healthcare industry for over the past 18. Inevitably investing this much time and energy into a career causes you to learn more about what you are doing so you can have a deeper connection with the purpose of why you are doing it. And so here are some of the takeaways I have had over the past two decades of helping our community recycle their duds into new wardrobes for the next wave of kids.
The children's clothes we see every day are top notch. Babies and kids grow so fast and pregnancy passes quickly though (though I know it doesn't feel that way when staring down those 40 weeks!). Kids and parents alike enjoy putting together outfits for various occasions including special traditions, school outfits, and weekend wear. Here in Boulder we also have an active photography scene that parents like to plan for. This all results in having plenty of inventory to choose from that does not make your child (or you!) appear to be running around in threads that might give out at any moment. In fact, our "fast fashion" world contributes to thousands of looks that look brand new that in actuality have gone through a closet or two.
Taking this into mind, it has been mind opening to learn what "fast fashion" actually is. Worldwide, the equivalent of one garbage truck is dumped into a landfill or burned every second, according to Business Insider. They also state that the fashion industry is responsible for being the second largest consumer of the world's water supply and produces 10% of humanity's carbon emissions. People are buying more clothes per year and companies are keeping up by releasing more styles per year. This creates a cycle where consumerism is the main goal which ignores the needs of things such as sustainability for the Earth.
Learning facts like these and consistently shifting through the priorities of running a consignment store (helping the environment, helping the community earn a profit off of their clothing investment, helping people be able to afford quality clothes and repeat) makes you start to think of other ways your small steps can have a large impact. Other steps my husband and I have made over the years have been to primarily drive an electric car, invest in solar energy for our house, start compost piles, and most recently, we have added bees! Italian honey bees to "bee" exact! I posted a video on Facebook (if you don't follow us, join us! @childishthingsconsign ) and I heard that a bunch of kids liked watching it. So, just "bee"cause this doesn't have anything to do with the store, I thought I would post it here to start a conversation with kids on ways to help the world if not just a fun thing to see!
Stay posted to see the formation of their hive and the development of their honey!