Gina Sinisi: "Clothing Optional"

Should you wear your green t-shirt and corduroys today or your leather jacket and combat pants? Perhaps you feel like wearing your good old trustworthy blue jeans instead. No matter what you choose, you must choose something because in American society getting dressed is not an option. While you are not allowed to roam freely in your birthday suit, whatever suit you do wear is your decision, as is where you get your clothes and what they are made of. It’s easy to drive to the mall and consume to your heart’s desire, but what about these traditional American clothing stores? Are they the best shopping option? What if I told you your blue jeans are deadly? Literally. Are they worth the life of another person? Would you trade them for your mom? It’s important to know what you’re wearing, who made it, and wear it came from. It’s important to know you have choices.

Blue jeans are the favorite pants of Americans, but because of the toxic dying process used to make them and the unfortunate chemical –laden cotton growing practices, they put their creators in dangerous situations. I believe in the good old “Do unto others as you would have done to yourself” mantra, and like I mentioned earlier, would you trade your mom for your jeans? No? Then why ask someone else to do the same?

If you are attached to wearing jeans, and your old ones are too worn out for your liking, then it is still possible to find some new ones. One great alternative to buying new clothes is buying second hand, used, or vintage clothing. This option is the most environmentally friendly one because it’s reusing what already exists and doesn’t add to material waste. Second hand shopping is also a great bargain and usually incredibly cheap. Garage sales are a great means for selling or buying new clothes and it’s usually possible to bargain over the price. If you really get excited about clothes and know people who have enviable wardrobes, organizing a clothing swap is another option. This way, you can always borrow something back if you miss it too much, and you always know your clothes can be found on friendly bodies.

If you have a fair budget and you feel that second hand shopping doesn’t always suit your needs, then buying clothes made out of organic cotton or hemp is another agriculturally responsible decision. Typical cotton production is toxic and dangerous. “Because the cotton plant is susceptible to disease and pests, it’s usually doused with a potent mix of agricultural chemicals. Some of these poisons are carcinogenic; others have been linked to headaches, dizziness, lung infections, asthma, depressions, and birth defects” (Visscher 22). While hemp is a much more sustainable plant than cotton and grows easily almost anywhere, the government, unfortunately, doesn’t allow farmers to grow it in the States, so if you buy a product made of hemp, understand that you are not buying locally or nationally.

While searching through the racks at second hand stores and reading lables takes more time than bouncing from store to store at the mall, it is kind of like a treasure hunt and the harder you work at searching for the treasure the better the treasure is. You have to get dressed. You don’t have an option. You do, however, have the option of deciding what to wear and what role you want to play in the American clothing industry.

Works Cited
Visscher, Marco. “Imps & Elfs: Fashion Sense.” Ode. April 2006: 22-24. Print.