I’m joining the Write 31 Days Challenge hosted by Crystal Stine to get my blog juices flowing and chronicle my Wardrobe Fast journey. You can find the first post in the series here.
Day 5
Top: New York Times t-shirt from The New York Times
Jeans: third pair of thrifted jeans
Shoes: Chuck Taylors, purchased new May 2018
My husband, Matthew, bought me this t-shirt for my birthday. We subscribed to The Times after the 2016 election. Advertising about truth and its importance in this particular moment spoke right to our wallets. Plus, the writing is tremendous and the whole endeavor makes us feel pretty darn adult.
But I don’t know how it was made. The tag says Nicaragua, but that doesn’t tell me anything about the factory conditions, environmental practices, or pollution to the local area. I love The Times and know by their quick retractions and journalistic spirit that they aim for objectivity and transparency.
But that doesn’t mean they didn’t make a hard business call and choose money over principle. And it doesn’t mean that they chose money over treating people fairly.
It just means that I don’t know.
The lovely thing about the internet age is that when you don’t know, you can ask.
So that’s exactly what I did in my Instagram post:
I simply tagged @nytimes (and @nytimesstore and @nytimesfashion) in my post asking “who made my clothes?” And we’ll wait to see if I get a response. If not, I know where to find them online and we’ll try another avenue to ask about the shirt.
I could do the same with my Chuck Taylors. And maybe I will.
Have you ever contacted a company to ask about their ethical practices? What might keep you from trying? I’d love to hear about it down below!
