It was a sad moment when I put my jeans in the hamper. I knew this was the last time. The last time I would see them hole-free. These jeans, they were much-loved. These jeans, I had high hopes for them. These jeans, I will never have another pair like them.
For some, getting holes in clothes is probably an exciting prospect because it means that they now have a good excuse to buy new clothes. For me, getting holes in clothes makes me want to cry. Once in a blue moon, I have an urge to go shopping. The rest of the time, I try and avoid it like the plague. This morning my mom texted me - "Want me to return your clothes that are laying on the floor next to a pile a receipts?" Yes, it is 20 days after Christmas, and the pile of Christmas presents that I need to return are still in a pile, receipts pinned to them, just waiting to return to the store. But driving to the mall, getting out, and going in is honestly one of the last things I ever want to do. I'd rather go to the dentist. Seriously. At least there you come away feeling nice and clean. These are not feelings I have when I go shopping at the mall.
For some, getting holes in clothes is probably an exciting prospect because it means that they now have a good excuse to buy new clothes. For me, getting holes in clothes makes me want to cry. Once in a blue moon, I have an urge to go shopping. The rest of the time, I try and avoid it like the plague. This morning my mom texted me - "Want me to return your clothes that are laying on the floor next to a pile a receipts?" Yes, it is 20 days after Christmas, and the pile of Christmas presents that I need to return are still in a pile, receipts pinned to them, just waiting to return to the store. But driving to the mall, getting out, and going in is honestly one of the last things I ever want to do. I'd rather go to the dentist. Seriously. At least there you come away feeling nice and clean. These are not feelings I have when I go shopping at the mall.
Another reason I don't like buying clothes is because I don't know where most of them come from. No matter how cute a sweater is or how well a pair of shoes fit me, if I cannot be guaranteed that a child or an overworked adult did not make them, I just don't feel right buying it. That would make me, in some sense, a perpetrator of human slavery. And this is not what I want to be known for. This is not something I have to have any part of. Except, of course, as an abolitionist.
I realize that knowing where everything you purchase comes from is quite a daunting task. I'm at the beginning of my journey to be a slave-free shopper. And I don't think that the journey will be easy, or ever over. But if we only took journies that were easy and quick, we probably wouldn't take very many.
So, as I begin the jean-replacement process, I do so as a shopper who is committed to buying slave-free jeans. It won't be easy, but I don't think it will be impossible, either. In the meantime, please pause and take a moment to mourn the loss of my favorite parts of jeans. You will be missed.
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