the.mall.

i went shopping a little over a week ago .......... at a mall. i don't mall shop like i use to. oh man, remember being 16 & thinking the. mall. was the coolest place ever. i'd walk every single store and spend hours there.... not necessarily spending money, just being there was cool. well, times change, right? my priorities are different. i like where i'm at and i like where i'm going.

we met at the mall mostly for conveience and to kill time. a couple of free hours in an afternoon amidst an otherwise busy weekend. but, i did need a few things...... so, we started at nordstroms. i do love nordstroms. i needed spanx. God bless spanx. and, thankfully, they are not made in china. they are made right here, in the u.s. who knew!? even better.

i also needed make-up. hello, sephora. i wasn't so worried that my make-up was coming from china...... although if i looked, i'd probably be surprised.......... with make-up, i do really watch ingredients. no parabens, no phthalates, no sodium lauryl sulfate, no petrolatum, etc. which eliminates most brands, even the good, high-end brands. sometimes this is really hard. i am a total sucker for packaging and pretty colors and cool slogans. i am easily distracted in sephora (actually, i am just easily distracted.). ok, ok.... focus. tarte does pretty well, but i have to tell you, it is hit or miss. i still have to read the labels. i did buy a lip stain pencil and i love it! and, it's made in america. bonus points again! bare minerals is pretty good. i use a lot of their eyeshadows. they have a prettty hip line out ..... buxom ....... i like it. i kinda keep checking to be sure that it's not too good to be true, but so far, so good. on this trip i bought buxom eyeliner and mascara. i have used their lipgloss in the past (although it didn't last long......). and just to note, eyeliner and mascara were also made in america.  another favorite company is korres. they are a greek beauty company, but clean "green" ingredients. i like their tinted moisturizer foundation.... which i bought on this trip too. i've used their face creams........mmmm..... there is a really pretty rose moisturizer. and i like their lip gloss. so, sephora was a success. i needed foundation and mascara and found a few extra treats. no parabens. no phthalates. and not made in china.

then, we browsed the gap. it wouldn't be a day at the mall without gap, right? oh, they had the cutest jacket .... kind of a trench coat with a ruffle. made in china. beautiful cashemere sweater. on sale. made in china. crazy cute jean skirt. made in china. dang it. i found a cute eggplant purple mini skirt on clearance. made in india. i'll take it........... call me trendy, but i love the mini skirts with knee high socks (with or without tights) and boots. :) so, the purple mini is a good purchase...... alas, the skirt was too big. when i went to exchange it, they didn't have the size smaller. i did find a nice white blouse instead. a good basic. made in india.

we browsed a few other stores..... talbots. ann taylor. banana republic. j.crew. lots of really pretty things. lots made in china. in fact, i kinda gave up.

so, lesson learned today.......... avoid the mall. most things are made in china. and, the mall stirs up the consumer in me. i'm just gonna stay away from now on. :)

happy thursday.

coley

my efforts

so, here we are........... two sisters sharing our agenda for trying to lessen our impact on the.world. here's my story....................

over the past year or two, i have started paying attention to what i buy and what it means to the environment, to my carbon footprint, to global economics. i know it's just me and my spending habits are not going to have much impact on wal-mart's stock value or sweatshops in china......................... unless, we all become more aware of the impact our purchasing power can have.....then, maybe it will make a difference. right? one person can make a difference. so, this is me. well, this is us. two sister's trying to make a difference.

for lent, about 2 years ago, i gave up shopping. for 6 weeks, i only bought what was absolutely necessary. mostly food and some personal items. no clothes. no new craft supplies. no fun lip glosses. it turned out not to be much of a challenge. after that, i continued to just watch my spending. i didn't set strict ground rules for not buying new things, but i really questioned myself....... do i really need this? if it wasn't on sale, would i still buy it? do i really love it?

and, about the same time, my favorite boy and i started talking about dreams of living a sustainable lifestyle.... we have big plans............live on a farm. grow vegetables. have goats for milk. chickens for eggs. collect rain water. use solar panels and wind power. we aren't there yet. but, the dreams are and our plans are real.

i decided i would do what i could until then.
reduce. reuse. recycle.
SHOP LOCAL.
use the library.
avoid harmful environmental ingredients/toxins.
eat seasonally / locally.
buy handmade. make handmade.
buy LESS. live with LESS.
and ...... not buying anything Made in China.

we have all heard the horror stories of the sweatshop labor and child labor that is used for all the cheap crap we sell for pennies here in the u.s. (and. sadly, i'm learning, it's not just the cheap crap....... some of it is the nicer things at my favorite "high end" stores too!!!). i am not going to be one to contribute to that. for one year, i promise to not buy anything Made in China. (well, i'll at least aim for 80% success rate)

i don't shop like i use to, but, i have already noticed applying this new rule has kept me from buying things. things i probably don't really need anyways. i have to admit, it can been disappointing............... super cute red couroroy skirt. at anthropologie! on sale. my size. made in china. blergh. there was definite temptation to buy it anyways. i didn't.

unofficially, other new year's resolutions support the same idea of living with less, having less of an impact, etc.................... specific examples?? i shop local when i can (avoiding major chain restaurants and stores). especially, try to buy food locally. grass fed beef from a local ranch. vegetables in season grown locally. buy used things when i can.......... i'll think..... could i find this at goodwill or a thrift or antique store? i also buy handmade when i can, although this usually results in internet orders (i heart etsy!!).... handmade clothes, gifts, bath & beauty products (including makeup). for bath & beauty products, this also means no harmful ingredients..... no phalates. no parabens. no sodium laurel sulfates. we make our own laundry detergent and counter cleaner. there are some name brand companies that are "eco-friendly" but, you always have to read the ingredient list. don't be falsly comforted by cute labeling and sales pitches..... lots of "green products" aren't really that better than conventional products..... blah blah blah..... be careful. know your stuff. research. and of course............. can i make it? or redseign it? can i live without it?

A year without China.....sort of

10...9...8...7...6..5....4....3...2...1....
Happy New Year!
So, it's already February, whatever.
This year's resolution? Trying to not buy anything made in China. Yeah.....wrap your head around that one.
Do you know how much is made in China....A....LOT.

Inspired by an idea entirely my sisters, here is the chronicle of two sisters doing some serious conscious shopping all. year. long.
Because you know what, conscious shopping is hard.

Example A: needed a new broom and dust pan, went to Bed Bath and Beyond. Every brand of broom they sold in the store was made in China. They had 5 brands of brooms. Not one was made any where but China. So you know what I had to do, buy the broom and leave the store feeling extremely guilty. NOT COOL BED BATH AND BEYOND.

Example B: wanted to buy a journal for my man friend as a gift on from the Wise Men. He has recently gotten into fermenting foods, so I was buying him a journal so he could log his efforts and write about what worked and what didn't etc...
I went to Barnes and Nobles, only ONE of the journals they sold in the store was not made in China. ONE. Do you know how many journals they have for sale? They have an entire section of journals totaling atleast 20 different kinds. And only ONE was not made in China. The one I bought was a really simple and cute journal made in Italy.

Conscious shopping requires the time and patience to check every label for those 3 little words, "Made in China" and making the decision to keep looking or to not buy it.