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Sustainable Wardrobe Sourcing Mishaps

Since reading "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion" by Elizabeth Cline, I've had a new-found need to make my wardrobe more sustainable. I applied Marie Kondo's method to identify which items I wanted to keep and which I needed to thank for their service and give away or recycle or turn into rags. I made the vow to buy clothes to replace when necessary, and not to fulfill a shopping desire or urge. I also made the vow to source all new clothing more responsibly.

That means features like:
  • Organic cotton
  • GOTS Certified
  • Fair Trade
  • Recycled materials  
Some of this effort has gone pretty well. I bought a clearance organic cotton dress from Pact to wear as a night dress along with 95% organic cotton panties. Many of these items are fair trade and GOTS certified. I also got a regular cotton dress from Passion Lillie that is fair trade and dyed in a supposedly more environmentally friendly process.

Unfortunately, I've had a number of poor experiences. BrookThere sent me their made in America, organic cotton bra, but I didn't like the elastic and it fit poorly. Customer service responded quickly to a return request for credit, but then never responded to emails or sent me the credit after the item was delivered. You'll notice there are a few posts online with women raving about the bras, but there are no reviews on the website itself.

RebelSoles was a second order and foray into customer loyalty that ended up as a dud. RebelSoles makes shoes in Ethiopia that have different fibers, including organic cottons, and recycled tire rubber soles. Some of the shoes are quite beautiful, and they make them to order in your size. I waited two months, sending emails asking for status updates, and the shoes were never shipped. I eventually got a refund. There are reviews on RebelSoles site, and it does seem that the shoes sometimes end up in the wrong size, but there are also happy customers. Perhaps my experience is a fluke.

Am I just unlucky?
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