Shop for a Cause: Shaping the Excess

As I look to the rainbow collection of clothes filling my closet, I see stuff. There is the set of multi-colored cardigans that I’ve collected from Old Navy, t-shirts representing every activity I have done since 5th grade, three pencil skirts that I bought this summer for my week at Girl’s State and a plethora of Forever 21 dresses. The significance of where I got these clothes or where I wore them is trumped by the significance of changing the world with each article of clothing.

I started to question my surplus of purchases and thought of the Mumford and Sons song “I Will Wait” that says “shake the excess”. Now to be honest with you, when I first heard the song, I thought it said “shape the excess”. Although inaccurate, I prefer the latter. Instead of getting rid of everything we don’t need, we should focus on shaping the excess so it has a purpose that’s worthwhile. I find this to be a tangible idea through “shopping for a cause”.
During the carefree summer days of sitting in my PJ pants and scrolling through Pinterest, I discovered my passion for organizations selling products that go further to help a cause. I will be writing this blog to help others discover these opportunities to change the world. The collection of websites that I will feature each month will vary from selling “one for one” products like the popular Toms shoes to Fair Trade products that provide ethical jobs for people around the world.

I will warn you that when you have an even greater purpose for spending hours online shopping, it can be addictive. When my list of sites to buy from and my wish list of items to purchase started piling up this summer, I decided to limit myself to one purposeful item each month. Along with efforts to shape the excess, I’m also shaking the excess by donating one item every time I buy something new.

Hopefully through this blog you can find items that you like and be inspired to turn your closet full of stuff into a closet with a purpose.