Does Going Green mean Going Broke?
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You’ve heard it before: Going green is too expensive, Buying organic costs too much more, I can’t afford to be eco-friendly. What do all of those statements have in common? They’re excuses, and they’re not always true. I’m going to start with looking at organic cotton clothing below, but first let me say a few things.
If it’s important to you to “green” your home and make an effort to buy more organic cotton and eco-friendly clothing, you will find a way to do it and stop whining about how much it costs…take a look at your priorities and cut your expenses somewhere else if it’s “too expensive” to buy organic produce.
(I’m kind of unsympathetic here, sorry. We all make decisions in our lives, and we have to prioritize. I spend more money to shop at Whole Foods because I don’t have to worry about the food I buy having crap in it, and I know I can choose an organic alternative for nearly everything. Because this is a priority to me, I cut my cell-phone bill, canceled Netflix, walk more so I don’t need to spend so much money on fuel…get the picture?)
I really don’t believe you can have your cake and eat it too - when you live on a budget (and we all do), there’s only a finite amount of money to spend - if you want to increase your grocery budget, you have to cut your “eating out” budget. It’s all about YOUR PRIORITIES.
It’s such a common misconception now - that organic anything automatically costs more - kind of along the same lines as calling Whole Foods “Whole Paycheck” - that it’s hard to overcome, but if you actually take the time to do the research, you’ll see that it’s not necessarily true. But then again, paying more for one thing of high quality can actually cost you (and the environment) much less in the long run than buying three cheap, questionable quality items.
Take buying organic cotton clothing, for example. Generally, if you’re looking at the same designer, an organic cotton t-shirt will cost more than a conventional cotton t-shirt (these EDUN-live t-shirts are $22 and $28 for the organic cotton). Converting a conventional cotton crop to organic costs money, and takes three years, so naturally those costs will be passed on to consumers; I don’t find a problem with that. It’s worth it to me to pay $6 for more organic and know that I’m not contributing to tons of pesticides every year threatening wildlife and people.
You can find basic organic t-shirts now for as little as $6 all the way up to, well, infinity. I am a t-shirt addict; I LIVE in them, I know exactly how I want them to fit, and I require that they hold their shape over many, many, many washings. Over the years, I’ve bought $4 t-shirts from the Gap, $15 t-shirts from J Crew, $9.99 t-shirts from Target, and and $45 t-shirts from James Perse. Guess which t-shirts I STILL have in my closet? James Perse. I’ve collected by now about 20 JP t-shirts, short sleeve, long sleeve, v-neck, crew-neck, you name it, I have it. I’ve tried everything and settled on James Perse because I like the fit, I know they will keep their shape, and they will hold up after many, many, many washes. Unfortunately, he doesn’t use organic cotton, so I’m exploring other options, but I have yet to find a favorite.
It’s up to you to shop around - try everything - and find your favorite organic cotton tee based on the kind of fit you like, and how long you want your items to last. I will argue here, that if you’re trying to be more environmentally friendly, you should aim to purchase things that will last several years, so you don’t have to replace them often; ultimately the less you buy, the better. And another thing when buying organic cotton is to BE SURE AND READ THE LABEL. Don’t fall for greenwashing, aka: only 5% organic cotton, and pay attention to where your garments are made. Personally, I’m willing to pay a bit more for items that are made closer to my home, than for items that are made thousands of miles away, then shipped here. But those are my priorities, yours may be different. As I keep repeating here, I’m just encouraging conscious shopping: know what to buy, where to buy, why you’re buying, and most of all, when NOT to buy.
So here are some very basic organic cotton tees to try - ranging in price from $6 to $42:
 C&C California Organic Tee - $39 |
 Norma Kamali for Wal-Mart Tee - $6 |
 District Cotton Organic Tee - $15 |
 Spun Organic Cotton Tee - $42 |
 Maggie's Organics Cotton Tee - $16 |
 American Apparel Organic Cotton Tee - $18 |
 Alternative Apparel Organic Cotton Tee - $28 |
 Edun Live Organic Cotton Tee - $28 |
I used basic organic cotton t-shirts here because they’re much more easy to compare than other types of clothing. But of course, I try to buy as much organic clothing as possible: dresses, sweaters, tank tops, etc., and if you browse through the reviews here, you’ll see some of my favorites. Also, take a look at our list of shopping sites for links to designers and boutiques that sell eco-friendly clothing. When you buy anything, it’s always important to shop around, and there’s a lot of trial and error involved with finding your FAVORITE t-shirt, or pair of jeans. But once you do, it’s the greatest feeling in the world - ESPECIALLY if it’s made from organic cotton.
What do you think? Is it worth it to pay more for organic cotton? Do you have any favorite organic cotton t-shirts? Please add your .02 to the discussion!!
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10 Responses to “Does Going Green mean Going Broke?”
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wow, you really break it down for us! i agree, that it’s all about priorities… I was able to shop at whole foods and buy all organic for about $50 a week, and it would cover my food for the week. people would ask how i did that, and it was all priorities.
admittedly i don’t wear much organic cotton, as much of my stuff is thrifted… but i do think i may need some more tees and leggings in the near future.
jennine’s last blog post..FrankenSanta
@jennine - i admire so much your thrifting ability
i wish i was “better” at it, but right now, i just don’t have the time to devote to it! that’s a great alternative to buying new organic cotton though. i just think that people forget sometimes that you can’t have everything. i think when you live on credit, you have the mindset that you CAN have everything, and you’ll just pay for it later, but living on cash really changes that! and it makes you feel much more “free!”
I totally agree with you. Its NICE to be able to buy natural home and personal care products, but you can make your own if its really important to you. Eating a diet of local, organic produce is cheaper than having strawberries in February (then again, I live in California where everything grows here) and not everyone lives in an area where you HAVE produce, let alone organic (ie: the inner city)
I try to at least by organic underwear and everything that’s close to my body. I have found some really good deals online at various eco friendly (and stylish) clothing stores. You just have to keep your eyes open.
Carla’s last blog post..Where’s the Beef? | Healthy bodies and Earth
[...] + Green Grechen looks at the myth that eco-friendly means wallet un-friendly. [...]
Is unmitigated arrogance a necessary component to the new green movement? Thankfully, I know that it is not. I know that there are many proponents of “going green” at various levels of understanding of the condition of our planet who do not think condescension is the best way to deal with people’s reluctance to pay for organic goods.
Raising the issue of people making good choices when it comes to how they spend their money is fine, it’s great. But clearly you don’t know much about the world outside of your small circle. Have you ever thought that plenty of people cannot make the CHOICES you seem to think are AVAILABLE to EVERYONE? (All caps is pretty effective, huh?) Probably not, otherwise you might have made the choice not to berate your readers.
I’m not writing this as a plea for your sympathy for them, but to offer you mine. You lack clarity around this issue and should probably look into the connections between poor labor practices (wages included) and the low levels of support for your green designers. You’re not doing yourself any favors with this attitude.
And no, purchasing free-trade goods is not a replacement for working toward an economy where everyone is free to exercise the choices you take for granted. It’s an excuse.
thanks, Isah, for your comment. i did not mean for this to be berating or condescending at all so i do apologize if anyone took it as such.
i challenge your basic assumption, however, that people cannot make the choices i assume are available to them. first, i’m generally addressing my visitors, who are mostly from the US & Canada and other developed nations. i don’t believe there is anyone in any developed nation who does not have choices - in fact, i also don’t believe there’s anyone, period, anywhere who does not have choices. everyone has a choice; there are hard choices & easy choices, it’s up to you to decide which ones you want to make. if you want to stay the same, and never grow, or change, you will always make choices based on what’s immediately available to you, whatever’s easiest, whatever’s cheapest…but if you want to have a different life, or be an agent of change, you will start making the harder choices between what may not be so easily achieved or purchased. this is exactly what i mentioned in my article - you prioritize things in your life, then you make the choices to support them. those choices may not be easy, or readily available to you, but they’re still choices.
i’d like more clarification which designers you are referring to that i mention in this article who engage in poor labor practices. if you’re speaking on a broader scale, i would ask you to please read other articles i’ve written about buying eco-friendly clothing and notice that i do not support buying H&M’s organic cotton because of the overall behavior of that company, nor do i encourage blindly buying organic cotton, no matter where it comes from or how it is produced. maybe i didn’t go into that enough in this article, but it is my central tenant that everything must be taken together when purchasing something: where it’s made, under what conditions, who makes it, how it gets to you, and what it’s made of. if you’re trying to be more environmentally friendly, it is irresponsible to consider one of these things without the others. i am not a fan of wal-mart at all, and wouldn’t necessarily encourage people to buy their organic cotton, but i included it here as a low-cost option. additionally, i am not as aware of C&C California’s production methods and company ethics, but the other companies featured here are clearly small, and engage in ethical business practices. not all “green” designers do, you are correct, but if they do not, i do not encourage purchasing from them.
We’ve looked into organic t-shirts before when we were considering t-shirts for a promotion where we would have our logo put on them and had the hardest time finding what we were looking for. All the t-shirts we found were either too boxy or they were more fitted but the neck was either too high (almost like a mock turtle neck) or too low - the only one we ended up finding that had what we were looking for was by Under the Canopy - You might want to check them out - most of the ones on their website have a message on them but they have plain also - their t’s have cap sleeves, the neckline is good and they aren’t boxy
Your headline is wrong. It should read “Going Green Saves You Green”. A lot of $Green$ The problem is that most people believe that “Being Green” is all about “Buying Green”, it is not, being green means consuming less resources. One of the resources you consume less of, when you “Go Green”, are your financial resources.
When you practice a Green Lifestyle you consume less,conserving your financial resources, and thus end up wealthier. For instance, if you get rid of your car, in 20 years you can have $450,000 in additional savings. Also, you will be able to retire with $180,000 less required savings.
You can calculate how living a Green Lifestyle, benefits you financially, by trying the Green Retirement Calculator http://www.iplanretirement.com/
About the Organic Cotton T-shirts. Try Hemp and Bamboo - better for the environment.
i totally agree with you on consuming less - that definitely saves money in the long term. my fiance and i are going down to one car this summer, and i’m looking forward to the amount of money we’ll save! i do somewhat disagree with you that bamboo is better than organic cotton, in my opinion, it is the opposite until bamboo is less chemically processed. see an article i wrote about that here: http://www.greengrechen.com/the-truth-about-bamboo-as-an-eco-friendly-fabric/. hemp is undeniably better than either one, for many things. on that i wholeheartedly agree: http://www.greengrechen.com/5-ways-to-add-hemp-to-your-life/
I think that organic being more expensive really is a misconception, and you are totally right- it is all about priorites. Most people who give that excuse never even step foot into a health food store. Also, shopping for sales and deals on organic clothing is just like shopping for them at a regular store! There are always sales, things marked down and lower priced items. I find that the prices of things at the mall most of the time are almost the same as many organic alternatives. I think something that would help people realize this is if maybe more everyday eco clothes were showcased as a whole, rather then some of the really intense designer eco apparel that does seem to be overpriced. But take a look at stores like Bluefly- which is supposed to be discount designer stuff- slave made regular apparel priced well into the $400 range - and there is nothing special about it, nothing that makes it deserve more $$$. it’s not even organic.
Shop for deals!!!