A new outfit... and an interesting idea!

Well, I am only 2 days into the challenge of only buying clothing made in the US and have to say, I'm doing great! I have purchased 2 garments since my last post, both proudly American born. The sweater is featured to the left and the gray jeans below. This orange and gray mini stripe sweater is 64% Rayon, 32% Polyester (eww, but ok), and 4% Spandex and the brand is Tea n Rose. After researching the brand I found that they only sell wholesale so it is hard to find out anything specific about their clothing.

The jeans (ok, I'll admit, they're jeggings) are a brand called JustUSA and again, only sell wholesale. So a whole new outfit and I didn't have to sacrifice fashion to have it.


While I was doing some research, I came across a very interesting site that sells only clothing made in the United States. They also have a unique feature called Traceability where you can type in a serial code on their website, All American Clothing Co., and find out what cotton farm the fiber in your jeans came from! In a related idea, it would be neat to track where your clothes end up after you get rid of them. Landfill? Goodwill? Recycled into new clothes? Maybe someday we will be able to see the full life of a pair of jeans.

I would also like to feature a video from Factory Made that explains how jeans are made from cotton, dyeing process, weaving, to washing. Please check it out to learn more, it is very interesting!

Step 1: commit to the challenge

When was the last time you looked at the label when purchasing a new shirt or a pair of jeans? You know, the small type that is required by law to state where the garment was made. You're likely to find MADE IN CHINA, MADE IN INDONESIA, or other country with similar negative implications. In fact, according to an abc news article, only 2% of the clothing purchased in the United States is actually made here! This is disturbing for many reasons which I will explore throughout the life of this blog.

In order to dissect the clothing industry and be truly authentic in writing this blog I am challenging myself to buy only American-made garments. You may be thinking that will be easy as I can just stop buying clothes, after all I do have a very full closet. However, shopping is a necessity as I am a manager at a clothing store and need to wear my store's fashions every day (not to mention the will power it would take to go on a dry shopping spell in my position!).

Stay tuned as I feature my USA-made purchases, feature various companies who manufacture on US soil, and examine the benefits of such a commitment. I hope you will learn a lot and be inspired to shop mindfully. Feel free to leave comments, feedback, or questions!