Posted by Snow in 
This is a hard year to teach kids the beauty of twice owned clothing. High school is the training ground for forming impressions that will last a lifetime. The ego of the average teenager or college student may find that hard to do in used clothes. But with careful shopping the school clothing budget needn’t snap the family credit card.
Sustainable living appreciates the value of gently used clothing and urges wearing clothing until it so far past its sell by date it might as well be compost. Consumer cultures like the United States have a tough time undertaking the process of re-using clothing when the back-to-school tradition is a time honored festival of consumption.
It’s a harsh back to school season for many kids. Back when I was going to school, the darkest days anyone could imagine were the gas crisis and parents grumbling about taxes and gasoline prices. Nobody dreamed the day would come when not having a car in high school didn’t matter, because there was little reason to need one in this economy.
And part time jobs in this economy are harder and harder to come by. It might be the right time to talk to your teenager about that aging Schwinn in the garage. But giving the kids a gift card to Ebay and letting them budget their own clothing might be a better idea.
People used to wear the same clothing year round until it wore out. Some climates are more unforgiving than others. The concept of the hand-me-down for items like jackets and snow boots fell by the wayside by the 1980’s when consumer label shopping trumpeted its last battle cry.
Hand Me Downs. Ah, the memories. Well, people do that today, but they don’t have foreign wars to pay for on top of record recession and a near decade of financial and economic downward spiraling.
That said, teaching students about credit debt and budgeting is a bit hypocritical considering the debt trends of the last ten to fifteen years. Teaching kids to start preserving the planet at the very moment the social stability and economic dominance leaves the country is a challenge.
I found an interesting article online about how to start a used clothing business. And there is a store online specializing in name brand used clothing. Plato’s Closet bills itself as a teen fashion franchise. I am not sure what that means, but if it shaves the cost and waste from the average teenager’s closet I like it.
Suggest to the back to school student near you these ideas.
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