Calling all pint-sized eco fashionistas! This week’s giveaway will give one lucky family a special “key” to Poppy’s Closet, a favorite kid’s clothing retailer of ours. We’ve teamed up with Poppy’s Closet to give away a $150 gift certificate to shop the site. Whether you’re looking to refresh your six-year-old’s fall wardrobe or outfit your six-month-old to look even more adorable than usual, you’re sure to find some amazing and unique clothing to ooh and ahh over. You can even search by style like bohemian or preppy. The latest pieces to arrive in Poppy’s Closet include itty bitty blazers, upcycled scarflettes, fall hats for boys, graphic tees, sweet dresses, and more. We, of course, especially love the organic section, which includes wooden toys like the silly, yet irresistible, Wee Wood Moustache Teether. Find out how to enter to win after the jump.
Here’s how to enter and win a $150 gift certificate from Poppy’s Closet!
1) Sign up for our weekly newsletter (if you haven’t already!) We’ll be notifying the winner in our newsletter – so you need to sign up and receive our newsletter to find out if you have won.
2) Add a comment to this post with your answer to the following question: What’s your best tip for keeping your tot’s wardrobe both eco-friendly and budget-friendly?
Contest ends Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 12 midnight EST. Winner will be announced in the following week’s newsletter!
Used and hand-me-downs all the way
My best tip is to go for used. Reusing clothes means less in the landfill and more money in your wallet. Hand-me-downs are free. I also buy as much as I can from thrift stores and consignment sales. It has saved us thousands of dollars and by NOT buying new, we’re recycling and reusing.
The best tip I can give for eco & budget friendly clothes is to share and share alike. We have outstanding friends who give us clothes and when they don’t fit anymore they go back or down the line to someone else. No cost and no trash.
resale shops
We get 90% of her clothes from family as handmedowns and we also shop at Goodwill, etc. We save the clothes afterward, if they aren’t to torn up for friends and family with babies on the way. =)
Take hand-me-downs when you can get them & take good care of what you do buy or are gifted (so you can “pay it forward”).
A bunch of moms around here trade clothes back and forth. It’s pretty much the same as hand me downs. We’ll all get together at someone’s house with our clothes and just swap back and forth. It’s great and it’s free.
We buy organic clothes on sale and look for used items on Craigslist or at garage sales and consignment shops. We are pregnant with our first child, so the hardest thing is conveying our wishes to friends and family. We have told our family and close friends that we are only looking for second-hand items or organic items, and while they would love to load up on clothes at any major department store, so far they have respected our wishes.
I totally agree with used, kids grow way too fast but sometimes you can get some great prices if you wait for end of season sales (got some $3 bathing suits) , only problem is, will they fit or will a big growth spurt come !!
recruit hand me downs from older cousins, thrift, sign up for websites like ecobabybuys that sell organic clothing/socks/ etc at warehouse prices, and use daddy’s old tshirts (that are often thrifted or organic) to make toddler tees, lounge pants, and jammies. our clothing bill comes out to next to nothing, which makes me feel better about getting our little ones good quality and eco-friendly footwear.
I have a great big family of packrats that love to share handme downs. Not just clothes, but lovely organic cotton sheets and yarn that I can sew or knit into whatever we need! It’s definitely cheaper to get the fabric!
Hand-me-downs make up the majority of my twins’ wardrobe. Love them.
I sew clothes for my child using old clothes of mine or larger clothes I find at the thrift store. Fun, cheap, and unique!
Hand me downs, swap with friends, and thrift shops.
When you do buy new, go for quality (Ralph Lauren, Janie and Jack, etc.). Buying quality ensures the clothes will hold up for multiple hand-me-downs.
But, buying new doesn’t mean you have to pay full retail. Hit the Clearance racks! That’s what my wife and I almost exclusively shop on. Saves a TON of money.
Hand me downs. Not only do my friends and I swap clothes, but my mother in law kept some of my husband’s clothes from when he was a tot, and it is fun to dress my son up in those. Also important to keep abreast of sales.
Consignment sales, hand-me-downs, and cloth diapering (not sure if many others consider cloth diapering to be a “wardrobe” tip, but with such cute prints and colors available, who needs shorts in the summertime?)
I ask friends with kids that are older than mine to pass along their clothing to us instead of consigning it, then I make sure to pay them so they’ll keep passing the clothes our way. We also have family members that make some of our clothing purchases through the year as gifts.
We’re in the same camp as just about everyone else – hand-me-downs and consignment are where we get most of our daughter’s clothing. We also buy some used clothing from our local “crunchy” store which sells mostly used organic items, with some of the proceeds going to local charities. I love knowing that I’m getting quality clothing for my little one *and* helping out local organizations.
Hand me downs from friends who have already had babies and consignment.
We shop for organic clothing on sale, as well as receive hand-me-downs from very generous friends. I have also started repurposing old clothes of mine into things for my girls. An old skirt recently became a pillowcase dress for my youngest and a pair of my pants turned into the cutest pajama bottoms for my oldest. I haven’t shopped in many consignment or thrift stores, but reading the other responses, it looks like I should! : )
We shop used on Ebay and in consignment stores. We donate donate donate too.
We have great friends and neighbors with boys a bit older than our Orion who let us sort through their bins of old clothes. We also hit up the local thrift shops regularly, let our friends and family know that we want sustainable gifts and organic/fair trade/domestic/used clothes, and we keep an eye out for great sustainable companies with blogs like inhabitots!
Thanks!
My tip is to go for used. I get hand-me-downs & go to garage sales & secondhand stores. I check sites regularly for discounted eco/organic clothes too.
A big cycle of handme downs that started with maternity clothes and has continued through baby clothes!
My husband and I are trying to give our daughter the message of taking care of what you have. She is responsible for folding and putting away her clean clothes, including hanging up her dresses in the closet. We are trying to show her that by respecting her things they will be around as long as she wants them to be. Also Items that have been worn are not always washed right away but most times put away for another wear or 2. We also don’t buy all that much and when we are out she doesn’t expect anything. Buyer responsibility is something our daughter has helped us with. She knows that adding new clothing into her wardrobe is not something that doesn’t need to happens all the time. Something my husband and I should have figured out a long time ago..We do get hand me downs from friends occasionally and we keep that cycle going by periodically looking in her closet and passing down her old favorites to other friends with smaller children. It becomes a very special process because we ask her who she wants the item to go and this includes toys that she no longer plays with. We box everything up and it becomes a gift.
Salvation Army and Unique Thrift Stores in Chicago are great sources for lightly used and sometimes even new baby/kids clothing with the tags still on. Otherwise I am really lucky to have generous family and friends who pass on hammy downs!
Reduce. Seriously, who needs 10+ of ?
Used and hand-me-downs are great, but shopping low budget (Target, Walmart) helps and my family likes freecycle. Most areas have some sort of freecycle group on yahoo – people post what they need or don’t need anymore on the site and other people can recieve/give back. It’s great!
We try to go for better quality, less quantity. We shop for our son like we shop for ourselves. We look for good quality, eco-friendly (if possible) fabrics that will last him. Oh & we buy bigger. He’s almost always in clothes that are too big for him.
we use hand me downs
we buy used clothes and upcycle them with other clothing scraps. We buy organic clothes on sale and pass them along to family and friends. My daughter’s wardrobe is at least 50% organic.
We shop at consignment shops to get great brands for super cheap. We also consign all of our old kid clothes so that we get store credit. Perfect combo!
So my cute quota has obviously been met for today- or for the whole week for that matter!
I don’t have any tots myself, yet, but I do place personal imporance in clothing my niece! She’s just too adorable to not want to constantly play dress up with her! I actually got her parents to start using an organic and eco-friendly detergent on her clothes and I’ve knit sweaters, blankets and stuffed animals for her out of organic cotton and hemp yarns. Those fibers are incredibly soft!
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!!
We utilize as many hand-me-downs as we can. Recycling clothes is good for the environment and the budget.
We like to check out all the gently used places!
I keep my daughter’s wardrobe eco-friendly by making her clothes from upcycled items, such as old t-shirts, sweaters, and men’s button up dress shirts!
Have a big family!! No but seriously everyone on here has it the most important point. Recycle recycle recycle. In all its forms, hand me downs and re-creations. It’s fun to have hip clothes for your kids, but considering how quickly they are out of them, you have to be conscious of your waste, not to mention your wallet.
I’m with the above poster……quality, eco’friendly clothing is worth it….even if it is more expensive. This way, the items still look great when they are passed on as hand me downs.
hand-me-down chain with family and friends, but when i buy new stuff, it is mostly good quality basics (solid colors or stripes/no logos) and a few statement pieces.
We buy used clothing from garage sales and thrift stores. Then we recycle it by giving it back to the goodwill when the kids have outgrown the items.
enchantedtree(at)hotmail.com
Hand me downs and consignment stores. Plus, thinking of new ways to use out grown clothing (like wearing a zip up sweatshirt or button up sweater open over an arms-too-short shirt or wearing a too-short dress as a tunic over leggings or jeans.)
thrift, barter, make, or savvy shopping.
in addition to doing as others have said (thrift stores, organic items on sale, repurposing old clothes into new things), i have made it a point to buy quality pieces that are also unisex because i plan to keep and reuse most of my son’s wardrobe for our next baby regardless of sex!
My best tips for keeping my daughter’s wardrobe both eco-friendly and budget friendly are to purchase gently used clothing and or participate in a free clothing swap with other parents. I also love to buy organic clothing when it’s on sale and I purchase quality items that I know will last along time instead of buying quantity.
I buy my son’s clothing slightly larger than he currently is so they will last him, and I also take advantage of Freecycle so I don’t have to spend ANY money and the clothing gets a new life.
Buy less! Second-hand or not. Keep play clothes separate from good clothes, so you wash less. Of course, when you do wash – wash with cold water and eco-friendly detergent and hang to dry!
I have 10 month old twins and hand me downs are AMAZING, to make the clothes unique and even more eco-friendly, I use scrap fabric and cut out things like animals, letters and shapes to sew on to the used clothes—instant style! What we can’t use, we donate, so that others can reap the benefits of nice hand-me-downs!
Something we’ve recently started doing is looking for repurposed clothing. For example, I just got my daughter a sweater dress from an Etsy seller who made it from an adult sweater she purchased at a consignment store. I also got the cutest t-shirt dress made from a vintage band t-shirt. I like the idea of breathing new life into items. It winds up saving us money and it’s a good way to get more use out of an item that might otherwise be headed for the trash.
Recycle–get and give. And spot-clean when possible instead of washing everything completely after every spill or drip.
We have 10 month old twins so hand-me-downs have been AMAZING! I take scrap fabric and cup out shapes, animals and letters and put them on the clothes to give them new life and make them original, what we can’t use we donate.
We buy used, swap with friends, and are always on the lookout for sales on eco-friendly brands.
hand me downs are my favorite (there is a little story behind each piece), and we also buy second hand.
If we buy new, we buy organic and have found that the quality is better and the clothes wash cleaner and last longer so this makes them more budget friendly even if the initial price tag is higher. We work with a local consignment shop to consign clothes that are too small or not worn and can buy new stuff in return with our credit. Its been the best and most eco-friendly budget friendly way for us and we feel lucky to have such a great resource in our neighborhood: http://www.janesexchangenyc.com/ if you’re ever in the East Village in NYC.
Use hand me downs.
We use hand-me-downs, from siblings, and cousins. I also purchase at yardsales, consignment shops, and second hand shops. We inturn either pass the clothes down or sell once we are done. Then when clothing is on it’s last limbs, I either repair it, or reuse the fabric, for patches, rags, baby wipes, craft projects, cleaning, etc.
cloth diapers, thrift stores, yard sales, craigslist.
Less brands, more local – small scale, buying from stores at the place of growing the original materal, among other things…http://www.isabooties.com/about/index.html, e. g.
I buy used clothes… baby clothes are the best get from used store coz its always good condition. and I use cloth diaper. and we got so many good picture books from 99 cents book store.
Hand me downs & repurpose other clothing into children’s clothing.
I usually buy things a size bigger than my daughter actually wears and then layer them. That way I usually get two seasons out of everything.
Two words: Second Hand. And when I’m done with them, they will onceagain be sent on there way!
Join a mommy group and recycle, swap and share!
Oddly enough, my daughter hasn’t grown that much in the past few years. She gets taller, but is still pretty tiny. As she entered the 3rd grade this year, we realized that she is still wearing skirts from PRE-SCHOOL! and most other things from 2-3 years ago. We supplement with a few new items, but most come from 2 local kids stores that take trade ins for credit. LOVE IT! (and so does my daughter!)
Mostly hand me down chain with family and friends, not just clothes, also toys. We live in a very hot weather country, so my baby usually is naked or just wearing deapers (less used cloths = less water)
cloth diapers, thrift stores, yard sales.
Buy used!
We love for hand-me-downs. Luckily my kids are both small for their ages so they can get hand me downs from their friends! I also buy organic cotton t-shirts in bulk and dye and stencil them myself. I go for quality over quantity, buy a bit big, and get years out of each item. A snowsuit from patagonia is now on it’s 6th year of use – it’s exceptionally well made from recycled materials, too!
This is a very interesting question. We know that young childrens’ skins are most vulnerable to the chemicals contained in dyes and finishes in conventional cotton clothes. And just looking into my daughter’s eyes is motivation enough for me to want to support un-conventional cotton farming, to help teach her by my retail choices about what we can do to protect our environment. So this is what we do at our home. When we buy new clothes, we try to choose organic ones. We wait for sales, often buying clothes several sizes ahead and sometimes choosing our second and third favorite colors and styles. We also try to focus on sweatshop-free brands, since this is all too common with clothes, even ones for small children. And we try to buy handmade. Buying handmade ensures a beautiful product made by someone’s own hands, in their own studio, who have infused the piece with positive values.
Then when things are too small (the too-short-shirts, for example), we DIY upcycle at home. That means we take clothes that are otherwise very serviceable, and cut them up into new ones, adding bands or ruffles or pockets. Kids are great are helping with the design of these. We also make some staples here at home. Awhile back I found a few yards of beautiful organic stretch cotton on sale, and use this to make a few pairs of simple pants every year. A great pattern, and simple sewing can go a long way.
And we visit consignment stores, buying for ourselves, and dropping off pieces for others. Sharing among friends is great, and keeping things to re-use for more children is so important.
So that’s what we do. Thanks for the opportunity to enter. We’d be incredibly thrilled to be able to choose some new pieces from Poppy’s Closet!
thrift stores and garage sales.
Shop thrift stores and consignment shops.
Hand me downs and repurposing are both great. Cut the feet off of my favorite old knee socks and voilà- cute babylegs or washable drool collectors for our ergo straps. EC’ing is also a super economical alternative to diapers if you have the time and inclination.
Garage sales!
i layer my daughter in clothes slightly big so that they last longer. i also buy quality items so that they last longer. i ty to buy from indepedent and local sellers so that the product isn’t travelling very far, and i get the added benefit of knowing i’m not supporting the explotation of workers. i use hand me downs which fit the above standards but i dont buy used, for two reasons. I want that stuff to be available for those that truly need it, and because I wish to live by example. What my kid wears is noticed right away by someone who wouldn’t know if it’s second hand or not. If they can tell that it’s handmade or organic (most organic clothes are of a muted color because of the absence of dyes) then perhaps they will consider buying organic for their child next time they shop.
My tip would have to be thrift stores and hand-me-downs for new clothing for your LO. Although it is fun to buy new clothes, its expensive and wasteful when there are tons of perfectly good clothes available at your local thrift store, from family members, or even just saving clothes from your older kids. Things that are ripped or stained can be refashioned or dyed into something new and unique! It’s so much fun to use available resources, and is less straining on our environment.
It’s easy to be eco and budget friendly by putting your kiddo in the thing they look cutest in….Gerber organic white onesies! So simple and soft!
We have also decided to use cloth diapers for our son, due 2/17/11…they save approx $55 a month and eliminate a _ton_ of landfill waste!
My baby girl and I usually shop at thrift stores for clothing. We just got her two pieces of vintage dresses and a wool coat this week. You can see them here: http://www.2littlebeans.com. My mother-in-law also makes things for her grand-baby. This year she is making her costume with pattern borrow from her friends. We also get used clothes donated from friends for our girl. We don’t have a lot of clothing for her, anything that fits into one drawer in our dresser. When the drawer is fulled. We wait till she outgrown them and get new ones. My mom make bids and dress for our baby girl with old vintage fabric she has. Anyway, I love vintage things and this is a wonderful way to celebrate.
Buying used and rocking the hand-me-downs among friends with similarly-aged children! One good piece of clothing can often serve well for several children!
I am a believer in hand washing and cold water washing to make the clothes last as long as possible. In addition, we recycle clothing by advocating the hand-me-down system as well as shopping in thrift stores for awesome buys!
I already get your newsletter.
We buy thrifted clothes whenever possible. And we fully utilize hand-me-downs. Our youngest baby is wearing our oldest son’s old baby clothes. We also cloth diaper our two who are still in diapers.
I swap clothes with friends who’s kids have outgrown their items and I also reuse a lot of clothing from my older boys for my toddler.
I definitely use craigslist and freecycle to reuse and pass on unwanted clothing. However, I do try to buy organic clothing on sale for any new items the baby needs.
We accept all hand me downs and what we don’t like, we donate to others. Kids grow out of clothes to quick to buy all new!
one word (with hyphens): hand-me-downs!
My friends and I all get together every season and do a “Clothes for Bro’s” clothing swap (we all have boys and keep havin’ ‘em!). I also love making t-shirts for my son out of old band t-shirts that belong to my husband, that he no longer wears. He looks super cute and the memory lives on! (And will be passed on now that I am having another… boy!) =D
Consignment and resale shops are the best way to go!
Turn the clothes inside out before washing to help them stay newer looking longer.
Turn clothes inside out before washing to keep them looking newer longer.
My sister and I trade clothing and recycle with another friend and what’s left goes to charity.
We share clothes with our relatives, and just don’t buy a lot to begin with, since they outgrow them so quickly.
My son’s wardrobe consists almost entirely of hand-me-downs from friends with slightly older children, and what pick up at clothing swaps held by a local parents’ group.
We are avid garage salers and thrifters who happily pass along too tight clothes.
1) Organize community clothing swaps
2) Transform too small clothes into new ones: last years pants are this years shorts, onies become t-shirts, footie pjs get a makeover into summer jammies by cutting of the footies and sleeves
I am learning to live with less. If I buy a few things I REALLY love, I find that I take better care of them and they stay nicer than a bunch of cheaper clothes that are more disposable in my mind.
hand-me-downs and some great sewing!
I get hand me downs clothes from my son’s cousins or my friend’s children.
I’m a newsletter subscriber. I buy some of my daughter’s clothes from eBay to keep her wardrobe both eco-friendly (reusing someone else’s clothing) and budget-friendly (you can find great deals online)!
I get more use from my baby clothes by cutting the bottoms off of onsies and hemming them, viola! You’ve got a new shirt! I also do this to rompers that have gotten too small to make cute tunics. I trim the feet off of footed pj’s to make them last longer too. So far it’s working out great! We also shop at a great resale shop and get hand me downs from friends with older babies.
Thrift stores and garage sales are, like everyone else, is my fav way to stay cheap and eco friendly. Once the clothes are outgrown, they go right back to the thrift store or made into crafts.
I like to mix and match (mostly solid bottoms, patterned tops) in harmonious colors. When I find a bargain, I stock up in a variety of colors. Then I figure out what looks good together. I find lovely surprises!
I try and ebay and that helps get stylish things that are second hand-
inalak at msn dot com
The best tip is to use used clothing such as handmedowns.