MMP Episode 315: Managing kid's closets as a conscious consumer with Hand Me Up shop
On today's episode, Jess gets to sit down and talk with Kara and Nicole of Hand Me Up Shop all about managing kid's closets as a conscious consumer. We've had many episodes talking about sustainable clothing, but this is the first where we dive in to the world of kid's clothing! It's a unique area of consumerism for a variety of reasons, and we're so excited to educated, share solutions, and help get the word out about Hand Me Up shop. We hope you enjoy!
More from Hand Me Up Shop:
Website: https://handmeupshop.com/
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/handmeup_shop/?__coig_restricted=1
Podcast Links/Sponsors:
Breana White- No matter where you’re located in the U.S., contact Breana for your home buying needs! Breana White, Broker with Keller Williams Realty Central Oregon, Equal Housing Opportunity. www.breanasellsbend.kw.com @breanasellsbend
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MMP Episode 315: Managing kid's closets as a conscious consumer with Hand Me Up shop
MMP Ep 315: Managing kid's closets as a conscious consumer with Hand Me Up shop
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Nicole: Hi.
Jess: Hi,
Kara: friends. Welcome to the Modern
Jess: Mama's Podcast. We are two modern mamas here to inspire empowerment, self-love, deep physical, and spiritual
Kara: nourishment, holistic health, open minds and joy. No matter
Jess: your
Kara: journey or perspective. I'm Laura of Radical Roots. I'm a certified CrossFit trainer, certified nutrition consultant.
And Mama to Evie Wilder and Indie Bo. I love outdoor adventure, good food,
Jess: especially sourdough [00:01:00] and mindful movement. And I'm Jess of Hold The Space Wellness. I'm a level one CrossFit trainer, a licensed and certified athletic trainer with a masters in kinesiology. And Mama to Baron, Camille. I love food, trying new things, creating art, and being a perpetual learner.
Please note that while we're here to provide advice and insights, we aren't medical practitioners and always recommend that you check with a trusted provider before implementing any changes. Thanks for joining us. We're so happy you're here. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Modern Mama's Podcast, and today we have a very cool episode.
You guys, y'all all listening in know that I, in particular, have started this journey towards really focusing on sustainability and a lot of aspects of my life, but in particular when it comes to clothing choices for myself and my family. And so we've had several opportunities to share wisdom and knowledge around this topic.
And today I'm really, really pleased we're welcoming the duo from Hand Me Up Shop on today to [00:02:00] talk about really diving into managing kids closets and kids' clothing as a conscious consumer. I'm so, so excited. Karen Nicole, thank y'all for coming on today.
Nicole: Oh, we are pumped to be here. Thank, thank you you for having us.
For having us. Yes. We're excited Absolutely.
Jess: To talk about, yes, I know y'all are such a good resource on this topic. I follow y'all on Instagram, share a lot of good information and I'm just really excited to share this with our listeners because I feel like even, and this maybe just my personal perspective, but even for myself, like I, I'm not a shopper, like I'm not a heavy shopper, I would say, but I am less, much less inclined to purchase for myself than for my kids.
Like my kids, it kind of, things go out the window cuz I'm like, they need new clothes, they need to look cool. Like, they need to look cute. And you know, as they grow, it's like, I don't know. They go through so many phases and like things that they like [00:03:00] and things that they don't like, and they have so many preferences because it's like one kid, like can't do tags and one kid doesn't want to be tight.
And so there's this constant like cycling of clothing that I'm much more apt to do for them. Like I could look like, like I just rolled outta bed for all I care, but like I want them to look cute, you know? And so it's like a different mindset I feel like. Do y'all feel like that is, you see that across the board or is it just me?
Nicole: No,
Kara: I think you're right. I mean, I think I buy way more for, I think that's most moms experiences is and is, it's easier to buy for someone else, your kids mm-hmm. Than it is to spend time focusing on yourself. And it's easy to just like, there's stuff's cheaper. Mm-hmm. Just in general. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
And so it's like, oh, I can buy this $5 while I'm actually here to get, you know, grapes for lunch tomorrow. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Nicole: And I. He has preferences. I'll buy something and one of my kids will put it on and be like, [00:04:00] yeah. And it's like, okay, well this needs to be given to someone else comes through when we close with tags.
I just imagine that are happening at home. When the mom brings it home, the kid tries it on and they're like, yeah, I don't like that. And then the mom's like, well, I'm not taking it back to the store. Right. So we're just gonna pass it on to somebody else. So yeah, I think, like you said, cycling through clothes is really the issue.
And that's one of the reasons we do what we do because we, we know firsthand what that's like to try to manage a kid's closet.
Jess: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. So, okay, so I know a little bit about y'all's story and everyone here doesn't, can y'all, I normally, I was telling y'all, I normally read the bio, but y'all's is more like a story cuz there's two of you.
So tell us, tell us about yourself. Tell us how you kind of connected, found your passion and like why this is the thing that y'all are focused on right now in this season of life.
Kara: Yeah, so we met when we were like 14 and it was pretty [00:05:00] instant, our connection. And we have always stayed close throughout kind of all of the phases of life.
And I mean, even in high school we ran like fundraisers at school together. We did like a kids summer camp. We've always kind of just like had this relationship that worked really well with each other. Like we have very different strengths and balance each other out really, really well. Not, not to mention we just like we're good friends.
Like we love being with each other. And so when we had kids we kinda were like, No, I don't, board's not the right word. What word
Nicole: would you use? We wanted to use our brains. Yeah. Other
Kara: than feeding meals. Yeah. And like our, I I, which I, I'm sure moms can relate to, like our identity was kind of up in the air.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I left corporate America. We were just like really like searching for a way for ourselves and work. While, [00:06:00] what I always say is being the we good moms that care for kids, but we also wanted to pursue other passions and started a blog podcast. And how long did we do that for? Like three
Nicole: years.
Kara: Mm-hmm. And we love, we love that. But during that time, what we got was like a pulse on motherhood. Mm-hmm. Which was. What, what kind of helped us create this idea? We knew we wanted to get out of like the influencer type world mm-hmm. The blogging world, and move into more of like a, a, a business model.
Mm-hmm. And why don't you tell, kind of like your. How, what ethical fashion and how you kind of landed on that. Well, one of
Nicole: the things we did, even from high school is we would share clothes with each other. Yeah. So we would shop each other's closets, not even knowing that that was a sustainable choice.
Back in 2000. You were
Jess: doing it before it was
Nicole: cool. Yeah. I remember I used to bother my mom too cause she's like, well I paid for that. Why is someone else, why get [00:07:00] in this, in
Kara: this picture with your shirt on? Cause I'm like, mom, this is what
Nicole: we do. We share clothes and now hilarious. We like host clothing swaps with friends and we all share clothes.
Right.
Kara: And my daughter is in all of her daughter's clothes.
Nicole: Yeah. Well and that's, that's another piece. So through motherhood, like I have older girls and um, I would pass along things to Kara's daughter and I've always been interested in ethical fashion specifically is where I first got started. I had some friends that one day looked at me and were like, Hey, do you know who made that shirt?
And I was like, excuse me. Like I, that has never crossed my mind. I haven't thought about that. So then I just like dove in hard. Mm-hmm. That's what
Kara: Nicole does. She's a bleeding heart. Yeah. Aw.
Nicole: I like to input information too. So I started learning, I watched a documentary called The True Cost, which really I think was the linchpin and the whole thing for me.
Like before I watched that documentary, it was kind of like I was aware, but then that really kind of lit a fire under me personally to be like, okay, I really wanna start paying [00:08:00] attention to where my clothes come from. And this was towards the beginning of my motherhood, so I'm still. You know, BA babies are in onesies and mm-hmm.
I didn't really focus on their stuff as much more so as what I was bringing into my closet. So pair that piece with like me learning about ethical fashion, I would weave that into some of our simply whole mom stuff too. Like the content. And then, you know, I'm passing clothes to Kara and we're thinking about business ideas.
We actually had a whole nother, we did, we considered a few different ideas. Mm-hmm. Business idea drummed up name and everything. And she sat me down one day and was like, what about this? And, you know, proposed the idea of you give me your hand-me-downs. What about the mom that doesn't have you? Mm. Like how can you get someone else's hand-me-downs to her and she doesn't have time to go to the thrift shop or time to take all the kids, or you know, she wants some more curated experience with it.
And I just was like, this is amazing. And we just up
Jess: it.
Kara: Yeah. Hand me was born, I just [00:09:00] had the idea one morning laying in
Jess: bed, that's where all the best ideas come. Like you're just laying there like shower, I mean, yeah. Shower
Kara: moment where I was like, this actually is a really good idea. And the only thing, and still the only thing that's like kind of similar to what we do is like a Stitch Fix or a whatever.
Mm-hmm. Which basically the concept of hand me up is secondhand mix and match wardrobes for kids. Mm. So we honed in on the size when they're growing a lot. Mm-hmm. When the turnover on clothes is high. So like birth to age six. Mm-hmm. And you get a bag from us that has seven items. And really to take it a step further, we did that.
We want them all to mix and match. Mm-hmm. So it's like a mini capsule would be the concept, which is the word. Not everybody knows, but like essentially everything can go with everything. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that you don't have these one-off items in your closet that can only be worn. One time, which as a mother is wonderful cuz you can just send your kid back there and be [00:10:00] like, put on something.
Yes. You know? Cause it, and it all, it all goes together. So yeah, that was where the concept was born. And then, I mean, the passion just grew from there. As we started researching more, as we started actually seeing the clothes coming in, the waste in our city, all of this, like, it just, it has continued to grow in our hearts and Yeah.
We're, we really are passionate about
Nicole: it now. Yeah. Oh, well, I was just gonna say, I was more focused at first on like the, who made my clothes, where they come from. Mm-hmm. Which I still am, but now digging into it, seeing the amount of things being made mm-hmm. And then just trashed mm-hmm. Is just like, mind blowing, which is a whole nother side of ethical, sustainable fashion in and of itself.
But yeah, it's like she said, the more we dug in the, the more the, the mission like gets more intense
Jess: for us. For sure. Yeah. How long have y'all been doing the shop? About a year. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's a little over a year. And how do you source most of the clothing? Is it like people sending clothing in or are y'all going thrifting?
Are you, like, how [00:11:00] does that come to you?
Kara: So the main, the main concept is that you send your clothes in. Okay. And, and so every order gets a, like a poly bag in there with a label. So you can send your clo send clothes to us, and you get $10 off of your next order if you send us clothes. So that's kind of where we're creating the circular, which is a term used a lot in the, you know, fashion industry is circular fashion.
It's, we want, we not only wanna be a solution for secondhand clothes to have more life, but we also wanna be a solution for moms to not. Throw their kids' clothes away. Mm-hmm. Or for them to not get a useful second life, so Right. We get a lot of clothes from moms and then we also, we do source some clothes, which is, is a crazy world of secondhand clothes.
So there's, there's just a ton, honestly, in, you can buy 'em for very inexpensive in different ways. Mm-hmm. But a lot of them come from like a [00:12:00] Goodwill or a thrift store like that. Mm-hmm. There's, nobody knows exactly how much, but there's, there's stats that say as much as like 60% of the clothes that comes in to some of these thrift stores never even hit the floor.
Oh
Jess: my gosh. What do they do with it?
Kara: Well, different things. So one of the main, one of the main things that's happening in our country is we're shipping them off. To what would be like more third world countries and cargo ships across the country, which, you know, people have differing opinions on that.
Some people think that is a good solution cuz they're still getting a second life. And we, we, we haven't been able to visit any of these places directly, so we don't necessarily have an opinion, but we have read a lot about how it's crashing their local economies because wow. They're not making their own clothes anymore.
Right. So, wow. There's that economic piece by sending them clothes that's so cheap and, and they'll never be able to undercut the cost, right. That they, you know what I'm saying? It's so cheap what they're getting it for. So that is [00:13:00] probably the main way I would say closers being moved. Yeah. Yeah, for sure around, yeah.
Recycling isn't happening very much. It's very on the precipice of, especially in the
Nicole: states. Yeah. There's people in Europe, Europe who are doing a better job doing some
Jess: cool stuff. But what do you mean by recycling? So in our mind, like recycling's, like plastics and cardboard and paper. So essentially mo, currently, right now, for the most part, people are not, we're not able to take textiles and reuse them for anything.
Is that what you're saying? It's possible,
Kara: yes, it's possible. Okay. But the technology to take textile to textile is not really there. And one of the main reasons is because so much of our clothes have plastic in 'em now. Mm. Mm-hmm. So like denim to denim, like the, like when you're getting more of like a pure fiber, there's more technology for that.
So that's one way to recycle is like textile to textile. Mm-hmm. But then there's also a lot of recycling that's happening, like, Textile to what is essentially like [00:14:00] fabric pulp. Mm-hmm. They're like breaking it down and that's what, what did you say? Down, down cycling is what? Mm-hmm. Yeah. The term a lot of people use, and that's like kind of the fabric, the, the most common is the fabric that's in your car.
Mm-hmm. Like what on your floorboard in your rugs and stuff. A lot of that is down cycled texture.
Jess: Wow. That is so interesting. That is truly something I, I feel like I'm fairly fluid in this conversation, but I feel like that's something I, I did not know. Really. Cool. I feel like hopefully we're on the precipice of more technology in that regard.
I feels like it potentially.
Nicole: Well, there's a couple of people, like I said, in Europe doing it. And the, then one of the main problems is most of our clothes now have polyester in them. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Wine, it's cheap. Two, they consider it more durable, but it's so durable that it like, doesn't really decompose well and fell.
And what we've done is we've blended things, right? Mm-hmm. So it's like, oh, this is a polyblend. Well, if you have a poly blend, you are gonna have to extract out the different fabrics to turn them [00:15:00] into new fabrics. And then once you break them down, they're not as strong as they were. Mm-hmm. There's a lot that goes into it.
I was pretty naive coming into this, cuz in my head I was like, oh, we can take some of the clothes we get with holes and stains. Maybe we can make new clothes.
Kara: Right. Well, and people are using those terms. Yeah. Like, you'll see like a mainstream, uh, you not to throw anybody under the bus, but like mainstream lines of clothes that are like recycled fabric.
Mm-hmm. And it's like, huh, that, how
Nicole: are you doing that? And like, so we'll
Kara: just start digging in. And so how can they
Jess: claim that? How can they,
Nicole: A lot of that terminology is recycled polyester, which already say 70% recycled polyester, uh, like
Kara: 90%, like very low
Nicole: percentages or recycled plastic water bottles, which basically means they melted down plastic water
Kara: bottles to make
Nicole: the polyester, which is, you know, every people argue that polyester is more sustainable, cuz sometimes it takes less water.
There's a lot of different information when it comes to this stuff, so that's why we kind [00:16:00] of don't take like a certain stance on it. It's kind of like, Maybe if we just stopped making as much stuff. Mm-hmm.
Kara: Assuming as much stuff, this wouldn't be wrong. Right. Let's cut back. Let's cut back.
Jess: Right. Okay. I love this.
I love the direction that this is going in. And so we've talked a little bit about, we touched on this because we just jumped right into the conversation, which is amazing. But how, let's take it a step further and go a little bit deeper if you have any more information to share. Like, how are our choices as consumers of clothing and textiles impacting the environment?
Do y'all have any like interesting statistics on, on what that's doing to the environment? Yes. Oh, share please.
Nicole: Okay. One of them, it's a lot of numbers, but Okay. We, and it was crazy, so we've only been doing this for like about a year. Maybe year and a half if you count like the prep work to get it launched.
The stats even changed. Yeah. Like from when we started. But the epa, which is the Environmental Protection Agency, estimates that the amount of clothing [00:17:00] and footwear, so like if you lump in shoes generated by the US each year has grown from 1.4 million tons in 1960 to over 13 million tons by 2018. Wow.
Yes. And so like it we're just like rapidly increasing the rate of production of things. And here's the crazy part, they think about 70% of that 13 million tons just ends up in the landfill. Wow. So when you talk about the environmental impact of that, if you're just dumping a bunch of plastic trash clothes, I know we talk about plastic on the beach with like trash, like we're essentially making trash with clothes and shoes too.
It's just mm-hmm. A lot of us don't equate textiles and shoes to trash, like, right. But it really, we have this out of sight. Out of mind mentality where it's like, well, if it's not in my closet, I don't have to worry about it. Mm-hmm. But eventually it has to go somewhere and sit. I don't know if you've ever seen that footage, I think it was from Chile.
Chile. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Chile. Chile. [00:18:00] There's a desert that's just full close of clothes. It's crazy. Wow. And you know, it's, those images are always so shocking, but it's like, I know that's not the only place that this is, is happening to. Mm-hmm. And so really also with the use of like all these polyester fabrics.
Mm-hmm. One of the things that's crazy about it too, that has an environmental impact is that they shed microplastics. Mm-hmm. Which, I dunno if y'all touched on that, and any of your podcasts.
Jess: Yeah. I don't think too deeply. So feel free to go into that.
Nicole: Yeah. I mean, it's just, they're finding microplastics now in everything.
Mm. And essentially it's every time you wear or wash, you know, Polyester, you get little pieces of microplastics that are floating right in the water source and all crazy, you know, kinds of crazy stuff. Yes. So, yeah, that's like a whole
Kara: another topic. Well, and like, it's not even just the environmental impact definitely happens on the, the back end.
Right. Which would be the, like, the waste. But it also is a very chemical [00:19:00] process Yeah. To produce a lot of our, yeah. Mm-hmm. So on the front end of making, there's tons of issues. There's the indigo dye that's in blue jeans, that's, you know, ruining rivers. There's tons of water that's used in making clothes.
There's tons of chemicals involved in breaking down the plastics to make the fabrics. I mean, it's, it's crazy. So not only are we hitting it on the front end, we're hitting it on the back end. And all of this is getting the price of clothes down as cheap as. As possible so people don't feel guilty buying stuff.
Mm-hmm. Cause money is a major driver for purchasing clothes. Mm-hmm. From in America. And so it's like, well that tank top at Old Navy costs $3. Mm-hmm. Get it. And we're not thinking about how much it took to make it from our environment and how much it's going to take from our environment on the back end too.
Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Jess: Hey there friends, pausing this episode to share a bit about our wonderful friend Brianna White, a fantastic real estate [00:20:00] agent based in Bend, Oregon. She's also a wife, mama, and a member of this awesome modern mama's podcast community. She has a super
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I'm sure you, you will connect with her just like we have. Thank you friends for supporting our podcast by considering our sponsor, Brianna, for your real estate needs, check her out@briannasellsbend.kw.com. That's B R E A N a sells bend.kw.com. Brought to you by Brianna White Broker with Keller Williams Realty, central Oregon Equal Housing Opportunity.
Now let's dive back into our episode. Okay. You mentioned something about water, and I was trying to explain this to my dad, who he is older. He doesn't really, he is, [00:22:00] he's a hard sell on a lot of the, the like things that I believe in. But I was telling him like, dad, you know, like it costs, it takes a lot of water to make those jeans that you're wearing.
And I was doing such a poor job, like explaining. Can you kind of, if you have any insight onto that, because we talk about like how much water it takes to make a pair of jeans. He's like, well, what do you mean water? Like, like how did they, why do they use water making the jeans? Can you kind of talk us through like a little bit, maybe like the life cycle from like start to finish, if you know how that
Kara: goes into it.
I, I'm sure there's more to it. The main, the only thing I know about it is, is anything that's died. Like they have to use water to dye it. Mm. Like wash through the processes. Yeah. Yes. Ok. So, so like, and you see women, I'm, well I don't know if you've seen but on Instagram, you know, a woman takes a her wedding dress and dies at pink.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's a super water intensive process even to like do it in her house. Mm. So at, you know what I'm saying? She has to fill up. Right. So it's same thing in the [00:23:00] genes are dyed with indigo, which I know is a chemical. Mm-hmm. Like a unhealthy chemical and I cannot remember where that river is.
Do you know what that river, where that river is located? No, I don't know that. But there's a river somewhere in India, cuz that's where a lot of our clothes are produced that is, is purple basically. Mm. Cause you're rinsing off so much of the clothes to get, you know, and you know, when you like wash something right at your house and the first wash and it dyes things.
So I know it that a WA water is mostly used. A lot
Nicole: and dying Part of it too comes from the cotton that they use. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Make jeans. So it's like each step of the process, I think is what they're adding up to come up with those stats is like there's a certain amount of, uh, water that goes into growing the cotton and then there's a certain amount of, you know, and so I think, which is interesting cuz then if you get into this debate of like, well, should we use cotton?
This is where I was going with the plastic. Some people are like, well it takes less water to use plastic cause you're growing cotton. But then it's like, well, cotton is a [00:24:00] natural fiber and can decompose faster. Mm-hmm. So it really is this push and pull, even in this sustainability industry, like you've got different camps and it's the same with like leather.
Right? Right. So vegans are like no leather. But then, you know, some of the ethical brands are like, well, we ethically source our leather. Mm-hmm. We use it from cow as like nose to tail is what they call it. And it's just, and then that breaks down faster. Mm-hmm.
Jess: Then like vegan leather. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kara: It is.
It is. They're, I mean, and that's where we always come back to, Just consuming less is the best. Mm-hmm. Is the best
Nicole: option for using what's already available. Yeah. Is really like, that to me is like, especially learning through this, through hand me up. It's like, there is so much available. Right. We don't, it's already made.
Jess: Already made. I feel like that's such, when, when I get overwhelmed by all this, cuz I'm like, what's best? Like how do I do it? Like I know it's, it's like literally my friend Caroline, I, you might know her, the Bluebird Collective, she's here in San Antonio as well. Oh yeah. She's, she's always [00:25:00] like, if it's already been made and you can find it in your size, like that's typically a very good option no matter what it's composed of or like whatever, what have you.
Mm-hmm.
Nicole: Yeah. I think it's got, it's got to be like an industry overhaul over wide. Mm-hmm. And we as consumers for sure can help with our choices
Kara: slow. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And
Nicole: like just even this, like talking about it and becoming aware of it, but it is overwhelming. Like when I first. Even got down the ethical side of it where we're, how we're treating the workers.
Mm-hmm. Which is like, I mean, in and of itself just so crazy and upsetting. And that even goes back to what Kara was saying about the chemical processes. A lot of these workers are being paid nothing and being exposed to like, crazy amounts of chemicals and getting sick, and they don't have the support or healthcare.
But yeah, really the, the best thing that I think when you get overwhelmed by all of it is just take like one step, right? Mm-hmm. Like one step, like I stopped trying to buy the random shirts at Target. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. That was my first big step. And [00:26:00] then, you know, the, it's shopping secondhand and for me it's been a really slow.
Like steady journey of like making, trying to make better choices and then like slowly indoctrinating my friends. I love
Jess: that. I love that. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm getting there for sure. And you touched on economy and like the ethical aspect of it. Can we dive a little bit deeper into that as well? So like, how are, how is the concept of fast fashion impacting the economy and.
Like, for better or worse. And then how does that trickle down into these people? Who, these human beings, who are the people that are creating all this clothing at such a cr, like a frantic pace? Like can you touch on those too? The economy and the ethical impacts? Yeah.
Kara: Yeah. I mean, I think, well, I think globalization across the board, you know, has, has changed the worlds, right?
Like mm-hmm. And this is just another example of that. And, you know, brands are [00:27:00] outsourcing, they're making other clothes to other countries. Mm-hmm. You know, whatever you believe about that politically. Like, we're not making a lot of our clothes here. Mm-hmm. And you'll see a companies that tote being made in the usa it's because quite frankly, a lot of things aren't.
Mm-hmm. And you will pay more for those clothes. Mm-hmm. For the most part, we haven't found a brand that's comparable to some of these faster fashion industries. Um, price. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because you, because it doesn't just, it's gonna cost more to make here because we're paying workers what we have requirements in our mm-hmm.
So I would say, you know, one, we've outsourced so much, which affects our economy, but it also affects other economies because they're not these people, which you can speak to this more, they're in a vicious cycle Yeah. Mm-hmm. Of being, and you know, which you speak to this Nicole, but I, I, people throw the word slavery around because mm-hmm.
Get out of the cycle of what they're [00:28:00] raised, if that
Jess: makes sense. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it does make sense.
Nicole: Yeah. And one of the ways I saw it described was like, if you have two factories next to each other, they're basically both gonna sit there and try to undercut the other one. You know, old Navy? Mm-hmm. This is just an example.
I'm not, I'm not trying to throw them under the bus, but they are like, well, you can produce this cotton pink top for 50 cents, but the guy next to you said he can do 35. Mm-hmm. So when you're sitting there, you've got it cut down that 35 cents, who's getting paid to make that? Mm-hmm. Because it still takes time and energy to do that.
And once you really sit down, I saw a breakdown actually yesterday of like what it actually costs to produce a t-shirt, just like a regular t-shirt. Mm-hmm. And it's a lot more than you would think. Mm-hmm. And especially if you've ever tried to sit down and sew. Oh yes. You know? Yeah. That like it, it takes a lot of work.
And the working conditions that they're in. It's just, it's a really, like Carrie said, they're stuck in a vicious cycle. Cuz when I've had this conversation with people, they're like, well, why don't they just find another job? And it's like, you don't understand their economy. There probably [00:29:00] isn't another great option one for women.
Mm-hmm. Or two. Some of them are like kids, teens and kids. Mm-hmm. Are, and even though I know you were saying in America, we do have standards, there have been some factories here, even in the USA that have gotten docked for not paying a fair wage because everybody wants a deal. And that's why that is this consumer culture that we're in.
And I'm not saying that I don't fall prey to it, I 100% swipe up. Sometimes I do the Amazon thing, but like mm-hmm. We want a deal, we want the Black Friday sale, we want the five for 10, we want whatever it is. Mm-hmm. Like that's what, what we're looking for. And the economy is reflecting that. So it's like this, we over consume, we over produce and it's like chicken or the egg, which one's happening first?
And one of the studies that I read was that the actual number of garments produced each year has doubled since 2000, which 2000 is, I mean,
Jess: I guess not that long ago. It feels like not that long ago.
Nicole: Yeah.
Kara: It's it's in our lifetime. Yeah. Yeah. It's doubled in our lifetime, which is crazy.
Nicole: So like doubled is [00:30:00] crazy and like she ends one of the worst, like they have all these like new drops or micro seasons.
Mm-hmm. Or you know, what was in last month is no longer in.
Kara: And so, right. That's when it all real, I've read stuff that when, when the people started knocking off designers. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's when it really started becoming an issue. Mm. Because then my me, the general consumer that could never afford a product address.
Can now get something that looks really similar for, you know, 80 bucks. Absolutely. And, and so it kind of created this vicious cycle. And then we went to micro seasons is what, which is where there's multiple drops from mainstream places. Mm-hmm. Target, old Navy, h and m, they're having multiple seasonal drops, so there's new clothes and new trends multiple times.
Jess: I've heard some, somewhere, someone said there's 52 micro seasons now. Yeah. Like weekly micro seasons. Oh Lord,
Nicole: yes. I mean it's, and you know, then you pair it [00:31:00] with social media and like to know it and it's like, it's unreal. It's crazy. Mm-hmm. Like the amount of exposure we have to consuming goods. Mm-hmm. Mm.
Which again, I fall praise.
Jess: Yes. All the time. Absolutely. I'm the first to admit I'm not perfect, but it is good to get back. Like every so often to get kinda like our eyes opened up again. Like even though I know this information, I've learned it multiple times. It's not to say like, again, like a well-placed ad on my Instagram isn't gonna suck me in, you know?
Yeah, yeah. Right. Cause like, oh, and it's 50% off. Like, I wanted this. What?
Kara: It's so true. It's so true.
Jess: It's hard. It really is hard. I think, and again, here on the, our podcast, like we're really, we're not focused on being perfect because, and you've already spoke to this, like even within the sustainability camp, you've got people that are gonna argue that what you're doing, even if it's quote unquote sustainable choice is [00:32:00] not the best choice.
Yeah. So it's always a matter of like trying again to get closer and closer to, uh, further and further away. Mind you, I guess from like fast fashion choices and falling prey to that. And I have just started doing this thing where I like, I just pause, I'm like, I'm not, I'm trying not to impulse purchase anything that comes across my like screen or what have you.
I just pause and like, wait for a minute. If I still am like, oh, but it's like exactly what I was looking for. It takes all the boxes, it fits into my wardrobe, all that, and I still want it. Like I come back to it, you know, but, and sometimes I purchase it and sometimes I don't. I'm just like, I don't need that.
I really don't need that.
Kara: So, yes, very similar. And one thing I've been, I'm very similar in that regard. Like if I sit on it and I still want it, then I'm not gonna feel guilty about, or if I feel like it's the perfect thing for my wardrobe mm-hmm. To round out a few outfits. But one thing I've been doing lately that really helps is I'll take the name of whatever the thing is.
Mm-hmm. And I'll hit it [00:33:00] into Poshmark. Mm. And a lot of times there's an item secondhand. Oh, that is so smart. Then I, then I don't, then I'm like, okay, I'm gonna get it. Yes. I'm like, I really fell in love with this ASO dress the other day and the silhouette was like perfect for me. I had an event I needed it.
I like to, I wanted a new dress to go to the event and hit it on asos, I mean, hit it on on Poshmark and there it was in my class. More, less than what it was. Of course. On the website. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm getting it. The universe is spoken. Yeah. I feel no guilt. Mm-hmm. And I'm, I'm getting it. So yeah, hit it in on some of these secondhand sites and you might, you might find it
Jess: amazing and we haven't even, I feel like we've covered so much and we haven't even like really dove into the kids aspect.
But have you seen, I, I know we'll get there cuz this is such a fascinating conversation, but have you seen, I. Like, it feels like more and more we're becoming aware, uh, like collectively of the impact and our decisions and our choices [00:34:00] around clothing and textiles. But at the same time, the statistics seem to not be reflecting that awareness.
Like, do you think that this, like, as we become more aware, anything is changing for the better? Like, I don't know, what are you observing? I have good days
Nicole: and bad days,
Kara: so, so we, the threat app puts out a report every year. And it's really good data about this, the trends. So trends, the trends and mm-hmm.
And one thing that definitely is showing up is secondhand is happening more and more. Mm. Like people are buying more and more secondhand clothes. I mean, it, one, it just shows in the growth of threat up. Mm-hmm. Like, but it, it's, it's showing in, in, in other, you know, stores of course, as well. So that is one thing that excites me is I'm like, I see momentum in this industry.
Mm-hmm. Which I'm like, it, it, it, it's like we use the word momentum all the time, but like, the [00:35:00] ball has to start rolling for things mm-hmm. To stop. And so I don't know that, like we will see these big, drastic changes. It will happen slowly and then, you know, at the tail end you'll really see the pickup of it.
Mm-hmm. But I, I do see. Mean, Nicole can share some data, but I like it. Secondhand is growing. Mm-hmm.
Nicole: Mm-hmm. Yeah. The threat, so threat up, they call it their reseller report. So their 2022 report, their top stat that they shared, which we opened this up and we were like, yay. It's secondhand is becoming a global phenomenon.
They predict and it's expected to grow by 127% by 2026. Wow. So they're saying that, which this is interesting to think about, but they think the second hand apparel market is gonna grow three times faster than the like new apparel
Kara: market. Wow. Which is, wow.
Jess: That is cool. That's so encouraging. Yeah.
Nicole: That's exciting.
It's a cool stat. And one of the, you know, I, I was reading, I like to read comments on things, but I was reading comments [00:36:00] on a post one day and it was like, okay, well is the second hand market growing cuz we're making more clothes? Mm. Or are people becoming more aware? And then it's like, then I'm like, okay, well our company is gonna listen and stop making as many clothes.
Like, I'm wondering where. They're coming up with this shift, but they've got all kinds of data in this report. It's super fascinating to go read about like where in the world people are buying. Like in this continent, it's two times faster growth than over here. It's a really cool, it's a cool graphic thing that they've got all, yeah, all over here.
So this report gives us hope and every time we look at it, we're like, yes, yes. Good. And then we go to like our local tech recycling facility and we're like, well dang, there's a
Kara: lot of stuff here. You know, if like, Even if it takes, like, let's say, you know, a few years for the production to decline. Yes.
There will always be the same amount of clothes. True. That have already been produced. Right. And, and it is just getting them redistributed, [00:37:00] which I think is happening more because there's people consuming more of it. Mm-hmm. So it's being redistributed better. People are opening, you know, thrift stores, things like that.
Kind of like even our, our idea, our company. I don't know what would've happened if we opened this 10 years ago, like if people would've even been interested in it. Mm-hmm. But people are more comfortable with the concept of secondhand closed now then I think they've ever been.
Jess: Yeah. Absolutely. Oh, okay.
Double-edged sword, I feel like. But I do, I agree with what you're saying. I feel like awareness comes first and then I. Like business responds. Right. You know, we talk about that with like, with, you know, safer skincare or personal care products like non-toxic and all that stuff. Like, it has been in the like consciousness a while that like our products can be potentially hazardous to our health and, but like consumer behavior hasn't, it's been like a slow drive towards like pushing companies to now like, Take that into [00:38:00] consideration.
You know, now we're seeing more and more like quote unquote clean beauty brands and all that stuff come to the forefront. So my hope is that like, eventually this con this, the statistics, statistics we're seeing consumer behavior will then drive business production essentially. Right.
Kara: No, I think you're right.
And I, I don't, I don't have a data point for this, but it's like, you know, when you fill up a lake, like a dried up lake, the first like, you know, millions of drops you can't even see. They just soak, they just soak right into the land. Mm-hmm. And then the like actual water showing in the lake, it's quick.
Mm-hmm. It gets so actually fills up. It's so
Jess: poetic. That is a beautiful
Nicole: picture. Killing it today. Feeling. Yeah. Thoughtful.
Kara: I do think, I do think the, like tail end of change happens very quickly in relation to how long the movement has been going
Jess: on. Absolutely. Oh, I love,
Nicole: I love it. I think too, some of the things like, we're even mentioning like Poshmark thread up, like the.
And like you said, our idea even, it's like, it's [00:39:00] making it, and that's what thread up suggests too. It's making it easier for the consumer to make this choice, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Which I think is what a lot of people in our modern American society that moves pretty darn fast. We want like the fast, easy choice, and
Kara: so mm-hmm.
I always say to Nicole, we have to be as easy as Amazon. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Cause I just like, I, I want them to pick us. Mm-hmm. Even if it's not for an ethical reason. Mm-hmm. Even if it's because I don't have to put together my kids' wardrobe because you're gonna do it for me, then great. Mm-hmm. If that's gonna get you into consuming from us, then wonderful.
Like, I, we, it has to be simple and I especially, you know, we're in the mom industry mm-hmm. The kid industry. Mm-hmm. Like, time does seem tighter for those people in society, and so I just, I, we want it to be easy to make. It should be easy. Yeah. Absolutely. Make the
Jess: right choice. Right? Absolutely. Okay, so we know.
C clearly, and we've touched on this, and you have a solution, right? I, I feel like you have the best [00:40:00] solution, in my opinion for sourcing kids clothes because we talked about, you know, getting that secondhand, the previously owned items and therefore not driving that consumption of new. So I wanna lead with this by saying like, that's, that's my preferred option, right?
But what about, you know, say you do need to buy something new, right? Like it's a specific item, or for whatever reason you need to be buy something new. I. What companies, what questions are you asking of those companies when you are sourcing something like to purchase new for your kids? Like are there specific companies you wanna give a shout out to that are doing a relatively good job?
Take it away. What, what do you have? What opinions do you have on that? Uh,
Nicole: yeah, this one's tough cuz I feel like I've spent lots of hours looking into this. For the kids. And unfortunately some of the more like ethically minded companies, my kids don't enjoy the style, [00:41:00] but one of the more popular ones I know of is like tea collection.
Oh, I've never even heard of that
Kara: before. Yeah. It's a, it's a very expensive brand. A lot of brands are more expensive.
Nicole: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But yeah, and they've recently launched like a Rewear by tea collection, so they're getting into the pre-load space. But they, what I try to do is when I'm looking for kids' clothes, I wanna go for the hopefully organic cotton materials.
And I try to like bebop around people's websites. I've gotten pretty good at it. Mm-hmm. If they really don't offer much explanation about their supply chain, it's probably not good. Mm-hmm.
Jess: Great. If they're not transparent, if they're not proud of it. Yeah.
Nicole: Shouting it from the rooftops board, you know, some people may just have not thought about it to share, but I always encourage, and I do this myself, to send an email and be like, Hey, Really interested in your brand, love what you're doing.
Could you like let me know like about your supply chain? Mm-hmm. Where's this coming from? Do you know if y'all use chemicals in your water? You know, just stuff like that if you're super interested in purchasing, but what I [00:42:00] usually look for is like organic cotton or there's a certification called, I can't pronounce it, but it's like OCO Tech.
Oh,
Jess: oh. Wco Tech. I, I, I say Wco. I have no idea if that's, I say, yeah,
Nicole: I don't ever know how to say it. I just know what it looks like, which I know Hannah Anderson is considered. Okay. I do feel like they produce a lot of clothes. Mm-hmm. Which is quality. Then I'm kind of like, oh, are you making too many? Is this considered fast fashion?
But I will say their clothes fit my kids multiple seasons, multiple wears. Mm-hmm. I've handed them down to both my kids and Kara's daughter. Yeah. And so I do when I need to buy sometimes feel pretty comfortable from them. I'm trying to think who else. Tea collection packed. Mm-hmm. Like packed, organic.
Mm-hmm. They have a really. Cute. Like small collection of kids basics. Mm-hmm. Which again, are organic cotton. They flat out say, made in a fair trade factory. Mm-hmm. But yeah, if you've got like a fashionista on your hand
Kara: Yeah. It's
Jess: kinda hard. Yeah. Yeah. It's really
Kara: hard. So I would say like, [00:43:00] if you can't land on an, like, what we use the term ethical company mm-hmm.
What you feel like is ethical, intentional buying. Yeah. So buying things that are basics that you know, we're gonna be able to wear. Mm-hmm. I, I, I try really hard not to feel guilty about intentional buying. Mm-hmm. It's like I wanted a pair of black boots for forever. I still haven't pulled the trigger on 'em.
I know I'm gonna use them. And that's the, I'm sure you've heard cost per wear. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That kinda idea of how much is, how many times are you gonna wear it for essentially the damages doing to the environment. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm saying? So I do, I wanna encourage people like intentional purchasing for your kids is.
It is a win. Like we're not absolutely, most people aren't doing that now, so that's, that's a win. Items that are interchangeable and where like can be worn with each other and then high quality. Which Nicole referenced and then what we kind of consider like grow with me items, which are like tunic [00:44:00] dresses mm-hmm.
And vests and things that like span more than just the Tu tea year. Mm-hmm. Where they can, they can go go for a while. Like girls dresses. That's the bomb. Like buy a high quality girl dress. She can, I mean, Peyton has, my daughter Peyton has worn dresses as shirts. Mm-hmm. Like they've made that that long with her, which is like, that's awesome.
Yeah. That's the major win as far as waist goes. So those would be kind of my, yeah. My tips outside of finding if you can't find a brand that your kid likes and is comfortable
Nicole: with and Yeah. I think going in with a plan like Kara said, is huge. I mean, I used to, you know, especially when my kids were babies, I'd be walking through Target with a stroller, just like throwing
Kara: stuff.
Yeah. In my car. Yes. Like
Nicole: if they wear it, cool. If not, whatever. And. You know, if you just shift that mentality even, I think it'll make a big difference in what's coming into your home.
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I have my daughter, well my son actually too. They're both so particular. Mm-hmm And we've gone clothes shopping, we've gone to both like your big chain store and to like secondhand shops. They try something on, they're like, yes, I love it. It's great. Cool. And I'm looking into their eyes and I'm asking multiple times.
Are you going to wear this? I know this is going, yeah. Are you sure you're going to wear this? And they're like, yes, I love it. It's the best thing I've ever seen. I love it so much. Okay, we're gonna get it. And then we get home and it's like, I hate it. The, the tag's itchy. Or there's this weird seam that I didn't realize, or,
Kara: I do that too though.
[00:47:00] Right.
Nicole: I mine, mine do the same thing. I, my youngest daughter actually just did this. We needed to buy her a new like jacket. Mm-hmm. So I'm not talking about like, you know, a t-shirt. Yeah. Like, I'm gonna get you a Patagonia. Because it's gonna last. That's another brand. Yes. I like, yes, their sustainability practices and we're in the store.
I'm like, you promise me. You promise me you're gonna wear. Yeah, mom, I love it. Take it home. The neck's too tall. I don't want it.
Kara: I don't care. It's over, honey. It's over. You're in deep right now.
Jess: You were freeze to death or you'll wear this
Nicole: jacket. Yeah, that's what I think all the things we get with tags are, it's like the mom that's just like, oh my gosh.
They decided not not to wear it. Or the grandmother that overbuys. Yes, absolutely. A lot of the tag stuff.
Kara: That's true. That's true. One thing I wanna touch on too, that we see a ton of is these like one-off items, these holiday? Mm-hmm. Holiday [00:48:00] items, family photo items. Mm-hmm. You know, the Christmas dresses.
Mm-hmm. We have. I mean, I can't tell you how much of that stuff we see and, and oh, like, you know, Peppa the pig and mm-hmm. Like character stuff. Yeah. Just, not even just like, so niche, but like Halloween, Peppa, yes. Halloween, you know, like our Mickey Mouse with the Santa hat on. So then it's like even more niche, it's mm-hmm.
And like, I would, I encourage people to think about that. Okay. When before they make the purchase. That's one thing we, we joke about it a lot on our page, you know, the Old Navy flag shirt mm-hmm. That has the dates mm-hmm. On it. And we, like, we, we joke about it a lot on our page, how much of it we get. Cuz some of it's just hilarious.
But I do like, encourage people, like, get a red dress. Mm. Have them wear it at Christmas. Have them wear
Jess: it Valentine's Day, have 'em wear it. Yes. Yeah. All of it.
Kara: That's, that's two wears. Yeah. And like there's this, Peyton has this gray that came in [00:49:00] through hand yet it's like a velvet Hannah Anderson red dress.
It's perfect. Mm-hmm. Or multiple wears during Christmas. Mm-hmm. And multiple, you know, she can wear it during Valentine's Day. So just kind of, I would ch and I know a lot of those purchases I do feel like come from grandparents. But think about that before you, you do, you know, the matching Christmas PJs is a tradition you really want in your family.
If the answer is yes, then go. Okay.
Jess: That makes a lot of sense. I've done both. I'm the first to admit, I've done the like pattern, Christmas jammies, uhhuh. My kids will not wear them anymore Anyways, so this is kind of a moot point. But I also primary, I don't know if y'all, I don't know if you've like, I
Nicole: love about to say I left them out with my brands that I
Jess: like.
I love them because they have red Christmas jammies and they have the whole, they have adult sizes usually around Christmas time at least. And it's just like, we've done that in the past and we've worn those until the wheels fall off. Like Right. You know? Oh yeah. Yes. So there's [00:50:00] options, like if that's still important to you.
I feel like there are sustainable options out there. They can get multiple uses. Yes. Or
Kara: buy more gender neutral ones. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then you can hand them from kid to kid. Totally. Like keep them and then give them to next. I've done that with mine. Totally. Yeah. But it, it all comes back to the, like, just make an intentional decision.
Yeah. And instead of just grabbing the like, We have so many sweater dresses with reindeers on them. Right. Like instead of like grabbing that if you really want it and you've thought about it and you feel good about that purchase, then okay. But like, don't just grab it because you feel like they need something for their Christmas party mm-hmm.
At school and you know they're not gonna wear it another time. That like the impact that that's making is significant. Mm. I love that you're seeing come coming through.
Nicole: Absolutely. Yeah. One more thing too is I stopped personally monogramming everything. Mm. See a lot. There's lot of that which is. You know, if you can find someone with the same three initials, that's cool, but
Kara: it
Nicole: that unusable [00:51:00]
Jess: right?
Oh, I never even thought about, I mean, I'm not someone who goes that far. I think it's adorable, but I definitely, it's not my wheelhouse. But I never thought about that cuz Yeah, you literally can't wear it Again,
Kara: it's, I know it's end of life. Yes. That's an end of life clothing item. And we do, we see a lot of it.
And now, you know, with the CR cricket, what is it called? The thing? Yes. There's lots of people printing names and things on their kids' shirts. Mm-hmm. Even not even just monogramming because of the, they can do it in their house. Mm-hmm. And yeah, it is sad cuz I mean, we just send it off to a recycler cuz we can't, there's nothing we can do with it.
Wow. The,
Jess: yeah. Yeah, that is a good point. I'm really, really glad cuz I think I would've never thought of that. I mean, again, I don't have one of those. My sister does and she does a lot of that and I, I'm not to like guilt or shame her because it's something she like loves to do, but I think she would be glad to hear that perspective and take that information in and kind of like reconsider in the [00:52:00] future, you know?
Nicole: Mm-hmm. Some of the cricket materials I know can peel off,
Kara: which is cool. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I dunno if all of them did. Yeah. So like, you can buy a red shirt and print Merry Christmas on it, pull it off print Valentine's Day off. Ooh. And there's Etsy shops. That sell these to you? We have a friend that does that.
Yeah, we have a friend that does it and it so it's a removable, it only wears like one or two times and then you pull it off.
Jess: That's really cool. So for someone who really enjoys doing that, there's options. Okay, cool. Okay. All feel like we're almost at an hour and I still have more questions. Are y'all good to keep going for a little bit?
Yeah, we're good. Yeah, of course. Okay. So I feel like we've talked, we've touched a lot about on these things that I'm gonna ask specifically, but I wanna open it up just in case y'all have specific points you wanna chat about. But what are some of the like, and maybe we can kind of bullet point it to make it succinct cuz we have talked about some of these, but what are some of the issues that we are facing specifically when it comes to purchasing kids' clothing?
Is it [00:53:00] because they're growing so fast? Is it the quality of the clothing? I mean, my kids, I'm like, I. Literally, I just bought this for you and there's a hole in it. Like how did this happen? Now you can't wear it anymore. Or I have to figure out how to like repurpose it. Is it the wear and tear? Is it like this idea we touched on beforehand of like, my kids are gonna look cute even if I am wearing sweatpants and the car line, my kids are gonna look cute.
Dang it. Like what is it a mixture of all those things? Is it something else? Like what are those issues that we're specifically seeing with kids' clothing?
Kara: Yeah, I think you nailed it. I think it's quality. Mm-hmm. For sure. I don't think we have the issues as a adults with printing different like characters and all of that on the shirt.
You don't, you don't wear Barbie like t-shirts. No print is dramas. I mean, it's unreal. That is unreal. So I definitely think those and, and, and the growth is, I mean that's one of the reasons why we focused on kids at he up mm-hmm. Is the growth [00:54:00] really is crazy. Mm-hmm. So even if you are buying a high quality item, right, right.
Right. They may only be able to wear it for one season. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. To about the type of, you know, jacket you're buying. Right. And how it goes with them. And I think it's money. I think like this is an opinion. I don't have any data to back this up, but, you know, like the, the, we don't wanna pay $40 for a t-shirt for.
Mm-hmm. And as they're, you know, they're only gonna wear it for a year, they might get paint on it the next day. Mm-hmm. You know, all those things. And so we want it as cheap as possible. Mm-hmm. Which I think is a reasonable desire. Mm-hmm. But it, it doesn't support, you know, all the issues we've already discussed.
Mm-hmm. So,
Nicole: yeah, I think quality is a big one. And one of the areas specifically I'm still struggling with is like pajamas for my kids. Mm-hmm. So we've resorted to just wearing like, big T-shirts, right? Cause I buy these polyester pajamas and by three [00:55:00] washes they're like, nobby. Mm-hmm. Like not great feeling like, and then I'm like, what do you do with this?
Like, you can't hand this down. It's just like, it feels like trash at this point. So I'm like, why are we still making these. You know, like even characters are not with just this poor quality of fabric that like, I can't, can't keep it right, but like I can't keep it that much longer cuz then it just becomes uncomfortable, quite frankly.
Yeah, it's super interesting. Um, and I know it's partially polyester, so then I'm like, well good luck recycling this. Yeah. Right. So that's an area specifically with like kids' pajamas. I'm like, I feel like there could be a lot of
Jess: solutions there. Yeah. I feel like with our kids, they, I mean, let me be the first to say, there's nothing cuter than a kid in like a matching pajama set, like coming out of his, their room like adorable.
But. My kids, they just, they don't like pajamas. And so our solution is like, they just basically sleep in like a t-shirt or shorts that they would wear during the day. It's like we [00:56:00] get a lot of life out of their clothes that they just have like the t-shirts and shorts that they wear normally and they're comfortable and sometimes it's just a big t-shirt.
Like I, that's what I slept in when I was growing up. I did not have matching pajamas.
Kara: It's an interesting cultural
Nicole: trend. That's kinda where I'm at now. Cause I'm like, this seems silly and pajamas aren't cheap. Right? I mean, zoom 'em are, but like, I mean I've, I don't know, I've been, that's an area where I'm like, what are we doing?
Kara: I'm really sleeping in cute matching pajamas. No. Mm-hmm. Spoiler or alert. True. My mom's house. Like looking just like great at 10. Yeah.
Jess: Yes, absolutely. Oh, so that's an interesting concept. Like just even that small shift potentially could really like help someone. Yeah. Okay. Let's see. I feel like, okay, so your shop.
It fits into this equation because as a solution, it's like we, you can still get beautiful clue, cute, well-made clothing for your kiddos through the [00:57:00] shop. Can you walk me through that process a little bit more too? Cuz I kind of wanna wrap up. We've talked about all these problems, we've talked about all these issues, and now hand me up shop as a potential solution for that, for a lot of this stuff.
Like, so someone comes to your website and what happens?
Kara: Yeah. They all they have to do is tell us what their, like gender preferences. Mm-hmm. What their climate preference is. So are we talking winter or spring and summer? And then what the size of their kid is. If they want to fill out a style quiz, they can.
And that's where we have kind of like the sensory question. Mm-hmm. Like, this kid doesn't like buttons. Okay. Mm-hmm. Tag or tags or where you can be more detailed. Like, we love when people are like, he loves Batman. It's like, great, you've got 150 bat, we can send you one. So that's where they kind of can give us more info if they want to.
Mm-hmm. Um, you know, a lot of people don't, and then they get in the mail from us. What we call as a capsule wardrobe. [00:58:00] So it's three bottoms, three tops, and one bonus item, which is, you know, a hoodie, a dress, a vest, overalls, something like that. And in the bag they get a, another bag with a label where they can send back clothes mm-hmm.
To get $10 off and yeah, everything comes washed, ready to wear. So we're are like, what we're really trying to accomplish for moms is simplicity. Mm-hmm. Not only in our ordering process, but also in, in their home life process. Mm-hmm. Positive, already organized for them. Amazing. And, and allowing people to close like their own waist loop mm-hmm.
With kids clothes with us. So,
Jess: yeah. That's awesome. Okay. That's amazing. That seems simple, doable. And you said mostly your birth through six. So like, I, I have a nine year old. Typically y'all are not gonna have like a lot of selection for like a nine year old
Nicole: sizes get weird after six. Okay.
Kara: Yeah. So kinda wild.
[00:59:00] Yeah. Like yeah, you get into the Xs. Mm-hmm. So we haven't, and we feel that's when kids start having like more of an opinion. Mm-hmm. Outside of like sensory issues, they also just have style. Like they found themselves by this age and they have style requests, so we have a lot of requests for it, but as of now, we stop at,
Jess: so I, well, and that makes sense.
That makes total sense too, because definitely my nine year ha Well, I mean, my six year old has some opinions, but she might be a little one-off, but he definitely has a lot more opinions. Like he's more aware of how his clothes are like being received in his little social circle at nine. Nice. You know?
Yeah. I got one of those. It's cool. Amazing. Well, to wrap up, do y'all have any, like anything else you wanna share? Any like practical, practical tips for managing kids' clothing or closets that we haven't covered? Or do you feel like we, we hit all the major bullet points? One of the things
Nicole: we like to share.
[01:00:00] And if you do order one of our bags and get the inside return bag, just like leave it in your kid's closet. Or you can use any bag, like an old Amazon bag or some sort of garment bag and just like as you go through and they put something on and it doesn't fit, just throw it in the bag. Mm-hmm. Like don't, don't make a new pile in your closet.
Don't make, you know, don't hang it back up. Just like really. Or if you have a hand-me-down bend for your other child. That's what I'm doing right now with my girls. But like, just get it out of the closet space cuz the, what I find even in my own closet is the less I have to choose from mm-hmm. Like the easier I can get myself dressed.
Mm-hmm. So if we still have all these things sitting in there that are taking up space that we're not wearing, it's gonna clutter our decision and our adjusting time and all that stuff.
Jess: Mm-hmm. So absolutely
Nicole: that's one of that. And I can do that in my own closet. Like I separate out, like I have a recycling bag.
I'll have like a clothing swap section and I just kind of, as I put things on, I add it to that section and then eventually deal with it. Yeah.
Kara: It doesn't have to be a big dramatic
Nicole: [01:01:00] day of like cleaning out your closet. It's like you can slowly do it as you go. And then I like my hanger tip. Yeah, do it.
Tell
Jess: us, tell
Kara: us. Nicole won't buy more hangers. So like if her closet has a certain number of hangers and if she doesn't and this works with, this is how my son's closet's set up. If he needs to hang something up that's new you, he has to get rid of something that's in there.
Jess: That is genius. Cuz I'm right at that point where I'm like, I think I should get some more hangers, but I literally can't fit anything else in here.
Yes,
Nicole: don't do it. What's funny is I have a small pile right now on my bench because I'm out of hangers and I'm like, oh no, I need to go take away three
Jess: things. That's a, that's a great tip. I, I think that's, that's genius. Doing it. Starting it.
Nicole: Yeah. And
Kara: moms like, you can do it. Mm-hmm. You can do this. Like, it's not, I, I, it might seem overwhelming, but you can do this.
And we, like, we [01:02:00] opened, hand me up and we like, we know moms can change the world. Like we just know they can. And I know that's cheesy, but like it, and Nicole's always like, Kara, you're a little dramatic about the trains jewel world thing. And I'm like, no, moms are the ones influencing their household. Yeah, absolutely.
They're, and so like, Just even little changes. They go so far and what, you know, what you're doing with your kids in your home. Like it has impact.
Jess: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Oh, and you're creating many conscious consumers, little conscious consumers that hopefully will grow up to make more conscious decisions. Yes.
You know, I, I have a story
Nicole: because my oldest, oldest daughter is the furthest thing from a conscious consumer. She really is. Of course, she's nine. I mean, just like, thank all of this. She's like secondhand clothes. Why would I wear something else? Which she doesn't know. Half of her clothes are secondhand anyway.
Amazing. I just tell her they're new, but the other day she, and she loves what I do. She's just kind of like, You know, she's a [01:03:00] fashion eastern. She's like, mom, she goes, mom, I have to write a little paper for school about a problem in our world. And guess what I picked? And I was like, what? She goes, textile
Kara: waste.
That's amazing.
Nicole: Fell on the
Jess: floor. How, how proud were you of her in that moment?
Nicole: Her teacher? She's probably what, like in her late forties, early fifties was like, Textile What whatcha, whatcha talking about. Another little boy in her class was like, we throw away too many clothes. And I'm like, oh my gosh.
There's
Kara: hope. Yeah, there is. That's the momentum we reference. Like it will pick
Jess: up. Yeah. Yeah. That's incredible. I love that. And what a, just a fitting ending for wrapping this up. I just think there's nothing else to say. It's like you're doing it, you're doing it, you're influencing the world. I really do hear on the podcast, we believe moms can like, change the world and it's, it's these moments, right?
It's like doing, like focusing on the family that you have and the kids that you're raising [01:04:00] and trying to just change the world through them, right? Because they're, they're gonna make those decisions eventually one day and you want them to be. You know, as close to kind and loving and sustainable and all the things as possible.
So yes, absolutely. Doing great work. Well, thank you so much for joining us. It has been such a pleasure. I feel like this hour flew by. Where can people find you? Like social media, website, like all the things tell
Nicole: us. Yeah, we are probably the most active on Instagram, which our handle is at hand me up shop.
Okay, perfect. And then if you have a Facebook that's, um, slowly coming back to life, same
Kara: handle. Okay, perfect.
Nicole: And our website's the same. Hand me up shop shop.com. Yep. Perfect. And if you brave even have TikTok, I
Kara: try to post on there, but we are making ourselves look like idiots all over the Oh
Jess: my gosh. I have tried.
I just have to admit, like, I just, I don't know. I can't get on the TikTok train, but I am just praise hands to y'all for giving it a go. I love it. [01:05:00]
Nicole: Refusing
Kara: charge. I have the app. I still refuse to get it. I'm like, I can't do another social media platform.
Jess: Well, kudos to you too, because I'm right there with you, but I do.
Everyone who is giving it their best shot. That's great. That's all right ladies. Well, thanks for coming and um, we'll talk soon. Thanks everyone for joining. Bye. I dunno what to say. Thanks for listening to our podcast. See you next time.
Kara: Thanks for listening to our podcast. See you next time. Bye.[01:06:00]