Affordable Organic baby clothes in Australia-{How ethical is affordable?}

Lately, I am quite keen to find not only organic clothing for my kids but for myself and my husband as well. Unfortunately, there is hanging a price ticket on Organic, and it adds up quite a bit to purchase organic clothing items for the whole family. Lately, I have noticed that the trend of Organic baby clothes found his way to the more affordable shops in Australia. However, the choice was quite limited at first. I was happily surprised by  Kmarkt with a whole section of Affordable Organic baby clothes.

As expected, the more prominent players have picked up the trend and satisfying the mash audience with the products they desire. Yes, Kmart, your marketing is most definitely the best.

Affordable Organic baby clothes at Kmart

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As you may have guessed, I love Kmart, and I think I may not be the only one. The other thing I love more

and more are Organic products, especially for my baby and the benefits of organic cotton for babies’ are the greatest of all.

I had organic cotton items from Kmart before, but their selection of choice was minimal. With the trend on Organic cotton on the rise, I was waiting for shops like Kmart to pick the fas trend and start offering affordable Organic baby clothes to the growing audience interested in purchasing natural products.

The last time I decided to pop into Kmart, I was happily surprised, and I felt like a kid in a lolly shop. There was a whole section of Organic baby clothes with as expected affordable price labels too.

I felt greedy and started to stack my trolley with items for my little girl, but I was wondering at the same time how can Kmarkt offer their costumers affordable Organic baby clothes with prices as low as $ 4dollers for a romper and $10,- for a pair of trousers?

The gap between the prices here at Kmart and other merchants selling organic cotton items is significant.  Also, I questioned the fact that some things don’t seem to feel as soft as proper organic cotton.

 

Affordable Organic baby clothes at Best and Less

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Another merchant with lower cost items for the whole family is Best and less. Best and Less is another shop which surprised with a limited amount of affordable Organic baby clothes. Not as cheap as Kmarkt who seem to beat every price, but accessible enough to not break the bank.

But when I returned later, I couldn’t believe my eyes. They had a big sign up with sales on organic clothing as low as $3,-. For this amount, you could purchase an organic shirt with long sleeves. I bought a couple, but it made me wonder how in the world is this possible. Also, I noticed again that the material is not as soft as Organic items are characteristic.

Are budget brands ethically responsible?

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Observing all these trends of my interest in developing on the market made me wonder. Don’t get me wrong. I love shopping at Kmart and Best and Less as their products don’t cost the world. However, I do wonder how it is possible that their products can be that cheap?

When researching the questions in my head, I learned that the cheaper shops leave a lot of space for improvement how their products are made. Thinking and reading about these, it all makes sense. Somehow corners are cut to offer customers such low pricing.

Do we know who made that $4,- Organic baby suit and what did the people get paid making it? In which circumstances do these people work and live their life?

The Ethical Fashion Guide?

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Did you know there is an Ethically fashion guide? It is a straightforward tool to give you information about how ethically responsible for a brand is. Fill out your favourite brand to learn what rating they have.

Many brands are labelled as fast fashion, and their goal is tho make a high profit as quick as possible. The work environment of there workers is often not great, and they may receive a very minimal wage to live there life. Often there is room for improvement how the situation is treated as well in the process of creating their products.

Companies can receive a rating starting at  A (which is the highest score), all the way up till F (what is the lowest score).

What the rating tells you is the ability of a company to show the effort they do towards producing ann ethically responsible product. Typical for high scoring brands are there effort they put into building relationships with there suppliers to ensure their code of conduct is maintained. They put in active measures to ensure their workers are receiving al livable wage. They take steps to reduce the risk of slavery and exploitation. They do what is in their power to be a responsible brand.

Brands who can’t provide proof about the way their products are created will receive a lower rating.

In these K mart receive a B+ rating in 2019, and Best and Less receive a C rating.

 

Should you avoid a brand without high ethical ratings?

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Well, it is all up to you but don’t feel bad if you buy in shops without the highest ratings. We all do what we can in the world we are living in and the abilities and possibilities we have.

We all have to make it work with the budget we have. We all do the best we can. Should you stop visiting shops without an A rating and feel bad about it.

No, you don’t have to boycott brands who still have room for improvement, providing evidence of ethical standards. Instead, use your voice and contact the brands with your concerns and requests. If you like to take action, you do that here.

What does ‘Organic’ on a label mean?

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Yes, this is what I was wondering as well. Did you know that clothing labelled as organic don’t have to be certified? No, they don’t. The only thing they have to do on the labels is telling the truth about the product; it is illegal to make false claims. A good thing to remember, don’t always believe what you read on a label.

 

If a label claims to be 100% certified organic, everything about the item must be certified organic. This is including the dye of the clothing. You could buy a baby suit labelled organic, and the fabric might well be from organic cotton. However, the colour used in the baby suit can still be toxic and non-organic.

If the label doesn’t say 100 per cent organic, very very likely it will not be 100 per cent organic. Australia has a voluntary standard for organic items. However, brands don’t have to meet the criteria as they are optional.

If a brand makes an organic claim, whether they reference a standard or not, they should be able to be substantiated. If a brand claims to meet a certain standard, it must follow this up and make sure that the claim is valid.

It is advisable to read labels carefully to know what the ingredients are, don’t assume that a label organic have the standards you would expect from a natural product as this not have to be the case.

Purchasing Organic baby clothes on a budget

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So there you go, the times are here that organic clothing becomes more accessible for a broader audience. However, just be aware to check labels to ensure products meet the standards you expect.

Be aware that ‘organic’ is a great selling word brand like to use on their labels and can easily be misleading, and it does not necessarily mean that the product you buy is 100% organic. The standards in Australia for natural products are not mandatory and don’t have to be followed up by merchants and brands. It is advisable to read the label to see the materials used.

If you wonder how ethically made your product is, you can check the website of the company to see if the product chain is transparent and visible. Additionally, If you can’t find anything on the site, you could check the Ethical Fashion guide to find out how your clothing brand is performing.

It is excellent if you have the opportunity to buy from a sustainable, high-quality brand.

If you don’t have the chance to fill a whole wardrobe with certified organic clothing,  you can always go for the more affordable options fitting your budget from this time and age. You budget opportunities may change in the future.

Don’t feel bad to buy from a shop who may have not the top rating. We all do what we can, but we can’t do what we can do not. What you can though, use your voice and support those shop to motivate them to make their brand more ethical.