Our eldest son’s birthday came up this month, so Hubs and I headed to Rally House to satisfy his request: he wanted a sports jersey from one of his favorite teams: the Eagles or the Phillies.
I haven’t been in a clothing store in nearly two full months.
The location of Rally House has changed since the last time I visited, which was probably around Christmas time last year. They now occupy a much larger space (maybe twice the size) with more products, more lighting, more kiosks, more everything. I’m not surprised by this, since we live in a nice part of town where plenty of folks are eager to purchase from a store like Rally House. This is Philadelphia! Folks love their sports teams around here!
It makes sense.
Being inside the store felt……icky.
This likely sounds like lunacy. Or at least an exaggeration. Why on earth would a person feel icky about being in a clothing store? This was a question I had to ask myself. Because try as I might, I wanted to get out as quickly as I’d gone in.
Was it the lighting? Was it the piles and piles and rows and rows of stuff? Was it the size of the store? Was it the recognition of how much money is actually spent to make these goods, versus the sale value?
I think it was all these things. I think I felt icky because, for the first time in my life, I’m thinking about how the store came to be and what keeps it there.
So, what did I do?
I bought our son a t-shirt. We skipped on the jersey. We couldn’t reason spending all that money on something that won’t fit him in a few years time.
For the record, I don’t feel great about this. I feel pretty terrible.
So, why not just get him the jersey?!?
I want to give our kids the world, but I feel differently about the retail industry and the garment industry and the ways in which we consume. I wanted this challenge for myself, and even if I feel conflicted at the moment, I still feel like the better choice is to stop paying into consumerism as much as I have.
The feeling of wanting to get my kid a jersey is fleeting. The feeling of not wanting to consume and spend and buy like a madwoman is not.
Even a reduction in spending helps a little bit.
Simply making a choice to spend less can help to change the face of consumerism.
I realize that my small change in habit won’t have a huge effect on the world at large. I realize that I still live in a consumer culture that shows no signs of slowing or changing.
But I want to believe in something. I want to believe changing my behavior can eventually have an effect.
Paying hundreds of dollars for jerseys means allowing these huge corporations to continually mass produce. They will produce as long as we keep buying. See how that works? So, this time around, I made a different choice. We’ll see how long this lasts. It may not. But for now, I took the “icky feeling” in my gut, listened to it, and made a different choice?
I don’t know if my son noticed……but I’ll keep you posted.
Namaste Every Day, friends. Keep at it!
4 the Love of Peace 