Los Angeles is a fashion-friendly city and Angelenos like to buy clothes! Fluctuation in styles and body size mandates the exchange of old clothes for different ones, and for L.A.’s 9 million inhabitants, this is a closet-cluttering process. So what do we do to make way for the new: throw away our used clothes? NO! We first try and pass them off to friends and/or family members, and if that doesn’t work we can find our clothes new homes at consignment and/or second-hand stores-and what a way to save some money buying “new” clothes for ourselves, too!

There are so many reasons to steer clear of buying new clothes. The fashion industry is riddled with inhumane work conditions and wasteful practices. Sweatshops hire young children to work in unsafe environments for a penny’s wage, and in the U.S., clothing is filling up our landfills by the ton. The EPA states: “An estimated 11.9 million tons of textiles were generated in 2007, or 4.7 percent of total municipal solid waste (MSW) generation.”

Here is a list of some local shops that add a bit of green and/or affordable flair during these financially hard times in which we are holding ourselves a bit more responsible for how the world treats the land and the people.

Jet Rag’s Dollar Sale happens every Sunday starting at 9:00 a.m. Each piece-jeans, lingerie, kid’s clothes, belts, dresses, everything- strewn out across their driveway costs only $1 and they’re cash only so raid the piggy bank the night before. It’s a bit of a zoo, and requires pile climbing and searching, but it sure is fun to find a vintage dress for a buck!

At Buffalo Exchange, if you don’t need a satchel to carry your goodies home in, they hand you a “token” which you place into a number of different charity bins. For each token in the bins, Buffalo will donate 5 cents to that charity. Also, between now and Earth Day (April 22, 2009), bring in your real fur items, even if they’re in bad condition and Buffalo Exchange will donate them to Coats for Cubs, a Humane Society of the United States nonprofit that is seeing to it that orphaned and injured wildlife around the country have comfortable and warm bedding.

Every year, there is a huge children’s items (clothing and gear) sale in Van Nuys, called LA Kids Consignment. Their tagline says it all, “Kids are expensive! Their stuff doesn’t have to be!” This year’s spring sale is from Friday March, 27th from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm in Van Nuys and volunteers for the sale get to shop before the public.

Clothes are just as eligible to be reused and recycled as a plastic bottle or cardboard box, so head down to any of these locations for fashion that’s stylish, affordable, and it’s rejuvenation is part of the big-picture solution. If you need more inspiration, check out these ydt approved, pre loved, clothing store destinations:

Buffalo Exchange
131 N. La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-8604
www.buffaloexchange.com/

Children’s Orchard
20929 Ventura Blvd. #45
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
(p) (818) 884-6446
www.childorch.com/

Jet Rag
825 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, 90038
(323) 939-0528
*Note this company does not have a website, so just link the title to the yelp review.

LA Kids Consignment
City-Art
7733 Hayvenhurst Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
www.lakidsconsignment.com/

Twerps
5060 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90041
1-877-489-3777
www.twerps.com/

Tags: Cheap Clothes, Conscious Consumerism, Green LA, Green Living In L.A., Green Living LA, Kids Clothes, Kids Vintage, Pre Loved, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, vintage, Vintage Los Angeles