I recently heard someone remark that when growing up they were ashamed and embarrassed by the fact that that they wore second-hand clothing. Wearing second-hand and handmade was a sign of poverty..something to be ashamed of.

That surprised me. I’ve learned to love wearing second-hand. I like that I can count the times our household has broken the ethical clothing pledge in the past nine months on one hand. I like that our clothes have a history...a story.

Like the outfit Little Eco wore to a party today. The ribbon was a gift from my sister’s opp-shop-sourced ribbon collection. The dress is handmade by Fabboo and was bought on a visit to the Berry markets with my mum. The top and even the shoes were opp shop finds. The only non-ethical bits of clothing are her undies and tights (bought before Isis produced her great lists of ethical undies and ethical tights and stockings). I wonder if, when Little Eco is older, she will be ashamed to have grown up in second hand clothing? I very much doubt it :-)