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I have this same ethical conundrum with select American Apparel items (I have a fisherman sweater by them that I live in). Try scouring thrift stores, vintage stores, and eBay for the LL Bean items you like and the money wonāt go to the company! Also, if itās vintage, thereās a chance it might be better made than something made recently, since material quality has gone way way down (thanks late stage capitalism).
Mar 5, 2025
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yes! at least 75% of the ll beans clothes i have is from the thrift store actually and i love them all so much. my main conundrum is when i wanna get people gifts, but maybe i should just start hoarding thrift finds to give to my friends and family
Mar 5, 2025
sbonifazi oooh that IS a challenge. REĆ has decent ethics. Patagonia had a great secondhand shop. And thereās also army navy surplus stores... so youāve got more options!
Mar 5, 2025
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š if you specifically need a hoodie, they make the best. Not cheap but youāre paying for quality, not a logo.
I think LL Bean makes good stuff. Not stylish, I guess, but good basics
Finally, Patagonia clothing is made in decent factories and you can send it back to them when youāre done with it - theyāll fix it up and resell it online
I think LL Bean makes good stuff. Not stylish, I guess, but good basics
Finally, Patagonia clothing is made in decent factories and you can send it back to them when youāre done with it - theyāll fix it up and resell it online
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šŖ”Go to a vintage store and feel the fabric, check the buttons and the seams, try it on. They will last you longer, wear better, and fit you well. You can hunt in thrift stores too, but I think itās worth the cost to support a local business (as long as theyāre not a crazy markup). The owners of those shops have done the work to find the quality stuff, including some incredible designer brands. To get the same level of tailoring and craftsmanship with new clothes today, you have to pay $$$$. Which can also be worth it if you really love the thing and want to support the designer. But tops from the 90ās and before are excellent. Unique patterns, weaves, softer and heavier material. They don't make them like they used to, collect them while you still can.
Feb 28, 2025
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štbh when i do buy anything itās an agonising process of hunting down either a very specific item or an item that fits a very specific way that iām after. i move a lot so owning things is a big deal to me, i donāt buy anything i dont see myself keeping for a while and sell things i donāt use regularly. i also make some of my clothes so thereās that
but iād say aside from specific vintage stuff some of my fav new brands to shop are our legacy, gildan, everybody.world, fadepants before i worked there, morjas, uniqlo u the 2 times it drops a year, and supreme
brands i like their clothes and might buy more in another financial situation but donāt shop much/at all are lemaire, connor mcknight (esp the outerwear), stussy (some of the best and most attainable styling for sure), studio nicholson, lyle mcgraw, orĆ©e nyc, horatio london, and nike/jordan
but iād say aside from specific vintage stuff some of my fav new brands to shop are our legacy, gildan, everybody.world, fadepants before i worked there, morjas, uniqlo u the 2 times it drops a year, and supreme
brands i like their clothes and might buy more in another financial situation but donāt shop much/at all are lemaire, connor mcknight (esp the outerwear), stussy (some of the best and most attainable styling for sure), studio nicholson, lyle mcgraw, orĆ©e nyc, horatio london, and nike/jordan
Aug 14, 2024
Top Recs from @salad_valet
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iāve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and thereās genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i havenāt felt online in at least a decade.
but i think whatās undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i donāt feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs iāve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things).
all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
but i think whatās undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i donāt feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs iāve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things).
all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
Feb 7, 2025
Rec
hear me outāthis one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after.
i did some serious reflection and realized iād become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing iād have it within a day. thatās not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases.
iām aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i donāt have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything.
in contrast, iām becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we donāt need to own it all, we have each other.
interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
i did some serious reflection and realized iād become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing iād have it within a day. thatās not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases.
iām aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i donāt have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything.
in contrast, iām becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we donāt need to own it all, we have each other.
interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
Jan 22, 2025
Rec
i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and itās enshittification), i realized i wasnāt even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like.
breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! iām borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isnāt being tracked by Spotify and i own whatās in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when iām out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.
breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! iām borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isnāt being tracked by Spotify and i own whatās in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when iām out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.
Jan 16, 2025