Building A Sustainable and Ethical Wardrobe For Kids

Have you considered building a sustainable and ethical wardrobe for your kids? Have you struggled with deciding between the earth and the price of some organic kids clothes? I certainly have.

Not only is important to build ethical and sustainable wardrobes for the obvious reasons, many of us also want to raise conscious citizens who are aware of their impact on the planet and work to minimize it. My little ones are too young to understand what this means, but little by little I hope my values are passed down to them.

If you are struggling to build an ethical wardrobe for your kids, here are a few ways to make it a bit easier. And, in some ways, it is easier than building an adult wardrobe. Others…not at all.

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I do a couple things right when it comes to my kids’ clothes:

Our kids don’t have many clothes, and I actively work to keep it that way. We have outfitted them almost entirely in hand-me-downs, and are fortunate that we will likely be able to that for at least the next few years.

But, there are other areas that I have not been great at.

Sometimes, it is incredibly difficult for me to maintain my values when I shop for my kids. When it becomes difficult, more often than not, I end up compromising.

Usually, I am in a hurry: the kids NEED shoes because they got a hole in the only pair that fit! Or, it’s picture day tomorrow?! Sh*t!

I am not willing to spend as much on the kids as I am on myself. It is hard to justify more expensive, high-quality clothing because even the best made clothes certainly can’t withstand so many playground tumbles and olive-oil hands.

So, I end up at Target. While it isn’t the worst place to shop for kids clothes, it certainly isn’t the best. Like I said…some things I do well, others, not as well.

If you end up the doing the same, read on…

How to Create an Ethical Wardrobe for Kids:

1. Know Your Values

My goal for their wardrobes is to simply find a balance between ethics, finances, style and time. Sometimes I am forced to make a choice.

I want to teach my guys that we can’t (and even if we could, we don’t want to) buy everything we want. I want to teach them the difference between what we need and what we want (which I learned much later than I should have!). That an important part of our home life is keeping our space neat, without buying too much. And that we take care of what we already own.

Spend a little time determining what your values are and when you will allow yourself to compromise. Yes, I realize, that I have said many times “we don’t compromise” on both values and style, but when it comes to kids’ clothes… well, compromise is exactly what I find myself doing. Sometimes on my values, often on style.  

2. Set Your Own Priorities

Just like with your own wardrobe, you need to set priorities with your kids’ clothes. If you have to budget (like most of us), sometimes buying ethically isn’t the easiest or most cost-effective way (sometimes it is though…). Your priorities may be a little different when building an ethical wardrobe for kids than your own. Mine certainly are (I am willing to compromise a lot more on style, a lot less on budget).

Set your own priorities, based on your personal budget, how much time you have to research and then wait for things, your values and when it is ok to compromise them.

For me, this varies. But, I am not always as organized as I’d like and find that we need something now. And, usually, I end up at Target (which is getting better. There are some recycled Cat & Jack options).

Once you’ve determined your priorities, cut yourself a little slack. Kids rip their pants, they lose sweatshirts, they seemingly grow out of their shoes overnight. Sometimes, you just have to pick something up. And if you can’t afford to spend a lot, you end up buying something that you isn’t quite ethical enough. It’s ok. It has to be ok.

If you are anything like me, you just need to fix the problem. And then work a little harder to make the ethical choice next time.

3. Practice Minimalism

Kids don’t need much. Be a minimalist when it comes to your kids clothes (even if you aren’t one with anything else!).

Your kids will likely have a few favorite items. And then never wear the rest. The 80/20 principal is more like the 99/1 principal for kids. My little guy wears the same one size two small sweats with enormous holes in the knees every single chance he gets.

Each of my kids has one drawer with all of the clothes that fit them right now. That is it. They are still small, so their clothes fit. I don’t see this as long-term but it works for now.

If the drawer is full, they have enough. This keeps my shopping impulses at bay (I do still struggle with over-buying, even after all these years), encourages me to return gifts for the next size up if we have too much now, and keeps me somewhat organized.

It also allows me to better plan for the things that they need, when they need them. It is immediately obvious that my big guy will need swimwear this spring and my little guy needs a few more pairs of pants.

Minimize your kids wardrobes to a few staples, a few favorite items, and then maybe one or two “fancy” shirts and pants.

And if they receive fancy clothes for gifts, unless you absolutely love it, take it back and get something more practical. I wish I’d started this much earlier on. We have some gorgeous dress shirts that have been only worn three or four times, by both of them. I look forward to passing them along to another mom whose kids will only wear them once or twice.

I will say it again:

They need much less than we think they do!

And this also applies to toys, but that is another story.

4. Hand-me-downs

Oh my! How I love hand-me-downs! I feel so lucky that the majority of my kids’ wardrobes are hand-me-downs.

Let your friends and family know that you would love any hand-me-downs that they have, and if they don’t work for you, pass them along. If you have close friends with kids just a little bigger than yours, mention it to them. Some people assume that people don’t want their hand-me-downs.

They grow so fast that some of our hand-me-downs seem brand new, and some of the things we hand down are pretty close to it.

5. Shop Second-Hand

If you don’t have friends or family with kids a little bigger than yours, shop second-hand. Kids go through clothes so quickly, that you can find almost-new and some brand-new clothing at second hand stores.

I love our local Goodwill, but I also love Poshmark and Kidizen. I haven’t shopped for my kids at ThredUp, but that is another great online option. Also, most areas have one or two really great kids consignment shops.

And don’t forget your school may have a swap to look forward to each year. If not – why not start one up? We just got a great pair of brand-new shoes that fit perfectly in our school’s swap! For $1.

I try my hardest not to buy any dress clothes or special occasion clothes new. They wear them so infrequently that when available second-hand, they are almost always brand new.

6. Bring them with you.

Yes, it is inconvenient.

Every so often, I pick up something that is so adorable. And it never gets worn, not even once.

But, if I buy something that my little one picks out, I know he will wear it (usually). I also listen to him when he tells me to take it back. If he’s not going to wear it, it is completely unethical and unsustainable (even if it is an ethical brand). I sit with him when I shop for him online.

We often end up with something that I don’t love nearly as much, and it takes much longer to pick things out, but he wears it. And, I rarely have to make a return. I think I probably have a lifetime of this…

7. Shop Ethical Brands.

If you can’t find what you are looking for from a second-hand store, or don’t have time to look (I have been there!), shop ethically. Take a look at my Big List of Ethical Style for a list to get your ethical kids’ wardrobe started, but here are a few of my favorite ethical kid’s brands:

Primary. These are especially awesome because most of the clothes are gender neutral so you can pass down to any kid. Plus, they are on the less expensive side.

Monica & Andy. This is a splurge, but occasionally, I just want something special.

Rothy’s. Another one that is on the more expensive side. But these shoes are washable! And they wear so well that I finally found shoes that both kids will be able to wear. Also, you can match! And, while I think they are designed for little girls as they run pretty narrow, I think they are perfect for all kiddos. Here’s $20 off.

Cat & Jack Repreve and other recycled polyester clothes. When I don’t have time to shop online or find a second-hand item, I end up at Target. I search out their Cat & Jack Repreve items. It sometimes requires a little label reading, but you can almost always find a handful of great, recycled clothes at Target. I get almost all of the kids’ swimwear here if we don’t have a hand-me-down.

Mini Rodini. Mini Rodini is also a huge splurge. We have been gifted a few items from here and they are so fun. And ethical! They also have an outlet that is a little more affordable.

Tea Collection. This might be my favorite brand for little kids. It also seems like it is my dad’s favorite brand too, so we’ve been gifted quite a few things from them and LOVE them.

H&M Conscious Collection. For my own clothes, I skip H&M (even their conscious collection) because at the end of the day, it is fast fashion. But, kids clothes are by nature fast because of the way they grow. I have purchased almost all of my preschooler’s undies from their Conscious Collection (they are so cute! and my little guy loves them).

L’ovedBaby. Aaaahhhh! These are my favorite jammies. They are just so cozy and cute. I keep trying to get one last wear out of them. Their basics are so wearable and versatile.

Beaming Baby. When we don’t use cloth diapers (on trips and at night), we use Beaming Baby diapers. They also have jammies and other ethical kids clothes. They are my husband’s favorites so we have a few jammies. And they are so cozy. (Update: We now use Dyper because of some logistics issues at Beaming Baby, but their jammies are just so sweet!)

These are just a few of my favorites. There are many, many ethical kids brands out there, in fact here is a list of some more affordable and ethical kids clothes. So, if you have to shop new, just do a quick search and you should be able to find something that matches your budget, your style, and your ethics!

8. Don’t forget about the disposal of your kids’ clothes.

Just like your clothes, they will eventually have an end of life (much sooner than yours). And the end of life disposal is just as important in an ethical wardrobe for kids as the acquisition.

Once they are ripped, grown out of, or otherwise no longer useful to your family, be sure to dispose of them in a sustainable and ethical way. Try to hand them down to another family, but if that isn’t an option, take a look here for the best ways to get rid of your used clothing.

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For more on eco-friendly living and ethical style take a look here.

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The only way to raise conscious consumers is to be one. And one way to do that is to pass these values by shopping for them, with them.

Yes, for me at least, it is not as easy to shop for kids clothes ethically. I just don’t have as much experience or patience for one. And time and money have to be considered (more than with my own clothing).

But, it is possible for your kids to look awesome, for you to not over-spend, and to shop with your values at heart.

Let me know if you have any other favorite ethical kids’ brands or any other tips on how to create an ethical wardrobe for kids. I’ll add them to my Big List.

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