i’ve been doing a lot of crocheting recently and have been thinking and reflecting about how things are made. and how we decide to buy things. this all started when i tried to make and sell these very cute (at least in my opinion) crochet pumpkin decorations.

no one wanted to buy them. (my bestie kelsey did buy a set right away though! shout out to her for always supporting me!!) and it really got me thinking. why aren’t people buying?

i feel like the majority of people make decisions to buy things based on price. they’ll buy it if it’s on sale. they’ll buy it if it’s cheap. they’ll buy it if it’s a good deal! not many people make decisions based on how things were actually made and consider the price that things should be worth.

my mom bought some new tights the other day. she did need a few new pairs and they were ‘only’ 10 bucks. i told her that they probably weren’t made in the most ethical conditions if they only cost her 10 dollars. how are you supposed to make fabric, sew that fabric and then ship the final product to america AND still make a profit on something that’s $10?

it just doesn’t compute…

what about the people (like me) who work on sewing and crocheting their own creations? hand-making the items that they need?

for the last few weeks, i’ve been working on this amazing awesome super warm lap blanket. it took me a few hours a day, for a few weeks to make and finish it. time, talent and materials all went into this project!

while working on my blanket project, i’ve been thinking about making conscious consumer decisions. do i actually need this? was it ethically made? am i supporting local business? did someone hand make it?

it’s a challenge, i’m not going to lie to you. especially when it comes to medicine. i need allergy medicine to live. BUT you can only buy it in plastic bottles, that come in plastic packaging. and was probably made super cheap in a factory in india, where i would hope that people were at least paid a fair wage.

so i can’t buy 100% ethically, local and hand-made for every single purchase. but i can make conscious decisions about what and where i buy. and i can make sure that my purchases are directly supporting people! i encourage you to do the same, whenever you can!

how do you purchase? leave a comment below! let’s learn together!!

(and send me an email if you would like your very own set of cute crochet pumpkins!)