The Problem With Cheap “Sustainable” Clothing

Multiple bobbins of colored thread used in cheap sustainable clothing stacked in rows.

Many people considering the relationship between fashion and sustainability for the first time will be immediately discouraged by the higher price tag of an organic tee or eco-friendly winter coat. But what is behind the cost of the clothes you wear and is there really such a thing as cheap sustainable clothing?

Read on to discover the factors behind garment pricing and discover the best way to shop for eco-friendly and ethical women’s and men’s clothing you can feel good about!

The Value of A Garment: Can Sustainable Clothing Be Cheap?

You walk into a boutique retail store at the mall and see the skinny jeans, leggings, and blouses hanging in neatly arranged rows, each with a brand-name tag and detailed wash instructions. Prices range from $50 to $100 with a few items on sale for $25. A few stores down, the discount fashion store also has racks of colorful clothes, but the garments are offered for dirt-cheap prices starting from a mere $5.

If you’re looking for cheap sustainable clothing, you might be wondering if it’s better to choose the first store just because the prices are higher. However, a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean better quality or that the garments are more sustainable. Here are just some of the factors that influence garment pricing in fashion and sustainability.

Three bundles of gray yarn on a white surface

Fiber Production

Every garment begins with the soil. Whether it’s wool that comes from a grass-loving sheep, cotton that comes from the thirsty Gossypium shrub, linen that comes from the flax plant, or fabrics from bamboo and wood pulp cellulose, they all begin with the ground.

If you’re looking for sustainable clothing, it’s important to keep in mind that organic cotton will cost more to produce because of the costs of organic certification and the higher price of organic fertilizers and non-toxic pesticides. Likewise, organic wool from a free-range sheep that feed on fresh grass and high-quality hay will cost more than conventional wool that may be a product of cruel and unhealthy factory farming.

Spinning and Dyeing

The spinning process for all fabrics is pretty similar. However, the dyeing process has a big effect on the price of the final piece. The cheapest dyes used in fast fashion clothing are made from petrochemicals and can poison local waterways as well as irritate your skin. Sustainable clothing that isn’t as cheap typically uses non-toxic setting treatments and vegetable dyes that cost more to produce but are gentler on your skin and the environment.

Cutting and Sewing

The next stage in the garment manufacture process is cutting and sewing — which is the point at which we find the “sweatshops” so often mentioned in articles about fast fashion. Workers in these garment factories (often located in China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh) may be paid less than minimum wage, and the lack of appropriate safety standards means that the lives of the garment workers can be put at risk — even when manufacturing cheap “sustainable” clothing from organic materials. So pairing ethical production or Fair Trade standards with your sustainable materials is imperative.

Retail Salaries

Once garments reach their destination country, their price will be affected by the salaries of retail workers as well as the profit margin of the fashion label. An organic cotton T-shirt may cost $10 to buy wholesale but may be sold for anything from $20 to $50 depending on the profit margin of the company. Where does this profit go? Some of it goes towards the brand’s marketing budget, but the rest is often pocketed by the CEO.

So, when you find a piece of cheap “sustainable” clothing for sale online, the company may have found ways to keep their costs low through sticking to online sales and a low-profit margin. Then again, the brand might be making a profit while keeping those benefits from being passed downstream to the garment workers and cotton farmers who produced the clothes. Prioritizing your budget on smaller fashion brands that focus on sustainability in addition to profit usually results in the best overall value.

Male and female mannequins in a cheap sustainable clothing store window.

Making Fashion and Sustainability More Budget-Friendly

Even though many of us would like to choose eco-fashion for everything from bamboo socks to sustainable jackets, the cost of fairness (and quality) can still be a little out of reach. Here are a few tips to save money on fashion while avoiding the pitfalls of cheap “sustainable” clothing brands that aren’t giving you the full story.

Shop Pieces That You Can Mix and Match

An organic tee by itself is great, but a tee and a pair of organic women’s pants that go with all of your T-shirts are even better. Shopping sustainable clothing on a budget means being smart about style and going for classic cuts in basic colors that you can build into a minimalist capsule wardrobe  and mix-and-match to your heart’s content.

Calculate the Cost by Cost-Per-Wear Rather than the Up-Front Cost

A $10 tee or $2 cami looks great on the rack, but how many wears will it likely last? Even if it has been made under fair conditions, cheap “sustainable” clothing of low quality will end up costing you more if it only lasts for a few months before you have to replace it. In contrast, a $50 garment might look more expensive at the outset but could end up costing you only a few cents per wear if its strength and quality last for years.

Help Your Clothes Last Longer with Proper Garment Care

Our next tip for combining fashion and sustainability is one that we’ve learned the hard way: Follow the care and wash instructions! Fast fashion has got us used to throwing everything in the washing machine and hoping it comes out ok.

After spending a larger amount of cash upfront on authentic (not cheap) sustainable clothing, you’ll want to make sure that you keep your eco-friendly clothes in the best condition for as long as possible. This means respecting directions to wash-by-hand, to wash in cold water only, and to drip dry or dry flat rather than throwing everything into the dryer. Things like woolen coats that are quite expensive at the beginning can last a lot longer if you wash them by hand only when truly necessary.

Shop Genuine Sustainable Clothing for Less at Faerie’s Dance

Our final tip for enjoying cheap sustainable clothing? Shop the most responsible eco-fashion brands when their garments go on sale (like in our great clearance section!) If you know someone who would love some organic and sustainable clothing but might struggle to afford it, you might also consider giving them a Faerie’s Dance gift card that covers everything on our entire site.

Want to know more? Browse the rest of the articles on the Eco-Fashion Philosopher blog and shop our curated fashion and sustainability brands.


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What is Eco-Fashion Anyway?

In 2009 we started The Eco-Fashion Philosopher with this very question. By 2019 the terminology has gotten more complex rather than less. Is “eco-fashion” the same as “sustainable fashion”? What about “Ethical Fashion” or “Slow Fashion”? Ten years on, and the need to clarify is more prevalent today than when we started. Let’s take a look at these terms and what they all mean.

Gandhi be the change full quote

“Eco-Fashion” Explained

Eco-fashion describes clothing produced with minimal environmental impact.

When people talk about “eco-fashion”, they are generally referring to the ecological impact that fashion has in the world. At Faerie’s Dance, we look at four factors when determining if a garment meets the “eco-fashion” label:

  1. How was the input material grown or made?
  2. Are toxic chemicals required for the transformation of the input material into fabric?
  3. How much production waste is generated?
  4. Which dyes or finishing agents are used in the final garment?

Just to be clear, though, conventional fashion is a dirty business. Exactly how dirty is hard to quantify because fashion touches so many different things such as water chemical pollution, ocean plastic pollution, soil pollution, carbon emissions, petroleum usage, desertification, and on and on. Entire movies have been made about fashion industry pollution. Check out this documentary preview on river pollution for a quick look into some of the main issues with the fashion industry.

RiverBlue – Official Trailer from RiverBlue on Vimeo.

“Ethical Fashion” Unpacked

Ethical Fashion ensures the well-being of the farmers and factory workers.

The creation of fashion is extremely labor intensive. Sewing machines are about as high-tech as things get in the fashion industry, and there are actual people who operate them. The USA once had a booming clothing manufacturing industry. In 1960, 95% of clothing sold in the U.S. was manufactured in New York’s Garment Center. With rising wages in the USA, companies started outsourcing clothing manufacturing.

Initially China was the place to go for cheap labor and minimal regulations. Sweatshop working conditions and child labor became the norm with profit margins skyrocketing for western companies that could still charge a premium. As the world became focused on the plight of the Chinese garment worker, conditions slowly improved and wages started to rise. In some ways, the problem became worse. In the never-ending “race to the bottom” western companies started leaving China to set up garment manufacturing in even poorer areas, with even fewer regulations. Fashion industry workers were increasingly being paid less and less for working longer and longer hours.

Rana plaza fashion industry collapse

In 2013, the Rana Plaza garment building in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1134 people who were making clothing for western companies. The building was not zoned for manufacturing. The upper floors had been built without permits. Worst of all, the workers had been threatened with job lose and pay withholding if they did not come to work even after cracks were spotted in the building. This disaster really shone a spot-light on the plight of the garment workers around the world. The Fashion Revolution was started to counteract this type of worker abuse.

Fair Trade Sewing Cooperative in Liberia

Today, the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes is used as a call to action to ensure people in the fashion manufacturing chain are treated with dignity, while Fair Trade standards and certifications ensure they are paid fairly and receive living wages.

“Slow Fashion” Sorted

Slow Fashion emphasizes quality over quantity and lasting appeal over trendiness.

Once fashion production was moved to places with cheap labor, the industry realized that more money could be made by offering lower quality goods, thus reducing prices even further. Moreover, if prices were cheap enough, producers could sell significantly more. The pace of fashion trends picked up significantly in the 1980s and 1990s. Instead of collections coming out seasonally, suddenly new items were being introduced monthly, and then weekly. The strategy was to get fashion from the catwalk to the consumer as fast as possible.

Planned obsolescence became the standard for fashion rather than quality. A shirt no longer had to last season after season. Wearing an item 2-3 times and then tossing it became the norm. The term “fast fashion” was born to describe this new model of production. And the pileup of fashion waste increased exponentially.

Fast fashion clothing

After a few decades of rampant “fast fashion” the toll on the environment, the buildup of landfill, and the emotional weight on people owning all this “stuff” became too much. Books like Marie KondosThe Life Changing Magic of Tyding Up” became international best-sellers as people have become bogged down in a sea of over-consumption. An entire industry of decluttering grew out of the mess. Frustrated consumers and fashion designers are fostering a new movement towards “slow fashion,” in an attempt to find a path back to quality, timelessness and sanity in fashion.

So What is Sustainable Fashion Then?

Sustainable Fashion is the all-encompassing term for fashion that is ecologically sound, ethically produced, and high quality. In other words, both environmentally and socially sustainable as well as well-made and stylish.

We’ve learned a lot since we opened our little online fashion boutique in 2005 with just 70 or so styles. We continue to educate ourselves about fashion, style, ethics and sustainability. Our research into new garments and manufacturers is extensive, and our verification methods have become increasingly sophisticated. Today FaeriesDance.com offers more than 1200 items, each one curated to be sustainable from every point of view.

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Organic Clothing, Technology and Owning a Small Business (or Why Doesn’t Your Website Work?)

If you had an issue ordering from us in the last month or two, we’ve fixed a bunch of stuff, so please come back and try again. (This line was at the bottom of this post, but I’m told not a lot of people read past the first paragraph and it took me a long time to get to the point. So that’s the point. Now without further ado, I present the Great Ramble…)

Being a small business owner rocks!!

  • I meet amazing people and hear lovely stories.
  • I haven’t used an alarm clock to wake up for work in 5 years. (Although, I do have a 4-legged, furry alarm who makes sure I don’t sleep in too late.)
  • I have the freedom to make my own hours.
  • I don’t have to worry about mean bosses or annoying co-workers.
  • On a daily basis I have the freedom to work on whatever strikes my fancy or not to work at all.

My Alarm Clock

Being a small business owner sucks!!

  • Technology drives more of my business decisions than fashion or ethics.
  • Even when I’m “off” I’m thinking about business.
  • It gets lonely working on my own from home all the time.
  • There is enormous financial stress that comes with working for yourself.
  • Taking vacations together with my partner is such a challenge that we rarely bother.

Earth Creation’s Madeira Top

By now you may be wondering, what is she talking about?? Good question. (Brevity has never been one of my strong suits.)

In March we had a lot of frustrated customers calling us with odd errors we’d never seen or heard of before. The most common one was not being able to choose a size because the dropdown menu wouldn’t drop down. We had our worst sales month in 8 years… And nothing had changed on the website!

After much pulling of hair, I discovered that our PHP version (the software backbone that the code runs on top of, if you will), had been automatically upgraded by our hosting company. Our “old” code wasn’t completely compatible with our “new” software version.

I’m very happy to say that we now have the main issues fixed. We also have Paypal back up as a payment option. But if you’re still having problems, please let us know including what browser and operating system you’re using so we can trouble shoot.

Of course, what this actually means is:

  • A bunch of money went into paying developers instead of buying organic clothing.
  • A bunch of time went into fixing bugs instead of adding features.
  • A bunch of mental energy went into understanding technology instead of writing coherent, interesting blog posts… And here we are.

Since you made it all the way down here, I’m going to give you two treats.

1. A discount code. We usually only share our discount codes with newsletter subscribers, but this month all of our blog readers get it too.  Take 15% off on all Earth Creations clothing. Use code: ECforEarthDay – expires on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, 2018.

2. A “hint.” Every year we have a big Anniversary Sale in July. This is the ONLY time all year that our organic bras go on sale. This year, Glen and I are going on vacation. For REALSIES! In order to go together, we are CLOSING for two weeks from Friday, June 22 – Sunday, July 8, 2018 (no shipments, no e-mail, no phone.) So we’ll be having a big combined Vacation – Anniversary sale from June 22-July 8 as a thank you for being patient with shipping. So mark your calendars!  And in the meantime, pick up a new Earth Creation’s top – they’re on sale right now!

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Yes, Organic Bra Prices are Affected by the Global Economy

Yvonne Wireless Padded Bra

Organic Cotton bras are the most popular selling item on FaeriesDance.com, and for good reason.  We carry the largest selection of organic cotton, natural fiber and eco-friendly bras in the USA!  We do it by sourcing most of our bras from Europe.  Amazing companies like Swegmark of Sweden, Peau-Ethique and Do You Green from France and our newest addition Comazo|Earth (maker of the Yvonne Bra shown left) in Germany are making natural, organic, fair trade bras far superior to anything we can get in the USA.  And even our best-selling USA-made brand, Blue Canoe, gets their GOTS-certified organic cotton fabric from overseas.  Like our in-house brand, Green Tree Organic, Blue Canoe designs, patterns, cuts and sews in the USA from imported fabric.

What that means, is that your modest organic cotton bra price is affected by global economics.  Unfortunately, while the stock market may be skyrocketing, the dollar is not.  The dollar just reached a 3-year low against the Euro.

The Price of the Euro Rose Steadily Throughout 2017.

Blue Canoe’s Cami Bra

As a rule, we try to price European goods at a 2-year running average so the price of the bras don’t change for our customers every single time we restock.  But the cost has just kept going up and up.  Since customs fees are paid on the converted price of goods, higher Euro prices also mean higher customs fees.

The bottom line is that many of our bra prices will be going up soon.  As a courtesy, we’re going to keep prices steady until Valentine’s Day since most styles and sizes will be restocked before then.  That means right now, you can get Blue Canoe bras at 15-20% off their website prices!  For example, the Blue Canoe Cami Bra (shown right) currently retails for $47.  It will be available for the bargain price of just $40 on FaeriesDance.com until February 14, 2018.  Come February 15th, the Cami Bra will be $42 and most other bras will be going up $1-4 per bra.  So definitely stock up now if you can.

Thank you for your continued support.  Wishing you a Safe, Health and very Happy New Year!

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Stock up on Green Tree Organic Panties Before Year End

Organic Cotton Panties
Green Tree Organic’s Trista Cami and Eat Organic Panty

Green Tree Organic Clothing has been in business for 2 years now and we’ve put out a total of 8 designs.  Our goal was to offer inexpensive organic cotton panties and intimates that are made in the USA.  If you followed along with us that first year, you’ll know the process was much more trying than I had ever imagined.  Fortunately, our process is now fairly stable and our small line is doing quite well.

Unfortunately, rising prices of everything from fabric to elastic to sewing has kept us from expanding into more colors, more designs and men’s items. We have been reluctant to raise prices because we really wanted to offer an economical, Made in the USA option. If you look at the PACT model, they started off sewing exclusively in the USA.  Prices continued to rise until most of their panties were in the high $20 to low $30 range.  Eventually, they gave up on manufacturing in the USA and started manufacturing in India.  It brought their costs way down and their panty prices are now all under $15. On the flip side, Blue Canoe has continued to manufacture in the USA and their price is now $34 for a single panty (though we sell Blue Canoe panties at a small discount everyday for $30 each).

Organic Cotton Boy Short
PACT’s Boy Short

So what’s a small business to do?  Here’s our plan.

•   We will continue to manufacture in the USA and keep as much of our processes local.

•   We will be raising prices in January both to reflect our higher cost and to offer wholesale so we can get USA-made panties in brick and mortar stores.

•   We will expand the line of PACT underwear that we carry to offer a less expensive organic cotton panty alternative for those who really want organic and just can’t afford the Made in USA prices.

Green Tree Organic panty prices will go up between $3 – $5 each starting in the new year.  This is early warning for you to stock up now.  There are a few sizes/colors currently sold out, but our seamstress is working on them and we should have everything back in stock before Christmas with at least a couple of weeks left at the old pricing.

What are your thoughts on this?  Manufacturing in the USA has certainly been in the news a lot lately.  Is price more important than local jobs?

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Welcome to the All New FaeriesDance.com!

homepage_1_leslunes

After many months of effort, we’re so excited to roll out the brand new FaeriesDance.com! The list of new features is impressive and we hope you’ll appreciate them.  Here’s what’s new:

  • Filterable search:
    • Search our bras for your specific cup and band size.
    • Narrow results of any product by price, manufacturer or fabric material.
  • More images per product.
  • Product certification images (GOTS, OEKO-TEX, Fair Trade, etc.) on the product pages.
  • Newest products listed right on the homepage.
  • Flexible Gift Cards that you can e-mail or print at home.
  • Easy, one page checkout.
  • Checkout without creating an account (although the Wishlist and Gift Card features do require an account).
  • More payment options including AmEx and Paypal!

In addition to all these great features, there were a few we just didn’t have time to get in.  Over the coming months, we’ll be adding even more options as part of continuing site improvement.  There’s even an expanded customer service area and FAQ so you can quickly and easily get answers to your questions.

There is one major policy change.  We will no longer refund shipping charges on returns.  To offset this, we are looking into offering a slower, first class shipping option.  Unfortunately, that requires the weight of every one of our (1100) products.  So it will be a little while before we can get that implemented.

As with any new software, there are sure to be little issues here and there that we’ve missed.  If you find something that’s not working or seems “wonky” as it were, please don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know.

Thank you so much for your patronage through the years.  We’ve launched this new website on the 11 year anniversary of our original opening date (July 22, 2005). It’s only with awesome customers like you that we were able to do this.

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Organic cotton demi bra

Why don’t your organic bras and panties ever seem to go on sale?

We just completed an overhaul of our FAQ. In addition to updating previous answers with new products, links and more detailed information, we’ve also added some new questions that we’ve received quite a lot recently.  The question that’s come up most often is Why don’t bras and panties ever seem to go on sale?” So, here’s why.

Organic cotton demi bra

We have a very hard time keeping bras and panties in stock. Bra and panty manufacturers seem to go out of business on us every few months. Because of that, we end up taking bigger risks with intimates, buying and stocking more than we normally would on other items and then having to warehouse them.

We put twice as much time and effort into getting the bras and panties in and keeping them stocked than anything else in the store. In addition, most Europeans are used to paying a lot more for bras than we are here in the US. So an $80 or $90 bra is common as is a $40 or $50 pair of underwear. (We’ve tried a few of those, but they just don’t really sell here). So to keep prices reasonable everyday, we take a smaller profit on bras and panties. This is even true of the panties we manufacture in-house. We wanted to keep the price range to $12-$18 per pair regardless of the cost of production.

Please take a look at some of the other US companies selling organic cotton panties – like Blue Canoe or PACT. You’ll find we’re the only company that has a very large selection of organic panties for less than $20 each. And the few brands we carry that are more readily available in the USA are offered at 10% off every single day. (For example, all of our Blue Canoe products are at least 10% off every day without a sale.)

If you’ve made it this far, we can tell you that our Anniversary is in July. We premiered our webstore July 22, 2005. Each July we do a one-week sale that includes every single item in the store – including bras, panties and clearance items – as a celebration of our anniversary. So this is the one time of year to stock up and save.

Be sure you are signed up for our newsletter so you don’t miss the announcement.  It’s mailed only once per month, so it’s not an overwhelming amount of e-mail.

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woman yelling

Just Because We Don’t Have What You Want, Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Care

woman yelling

As owner of an eco-fashion store, I get a lot of great emails, but every once in a while I get a crazy, nasty e-mail.  Most often, it’s because I don’t carry someone’s size, but several other varieties of nasties also wind up in my inbox. 

We’re getting a little more exposure lately, and with it, an up-tick in nasty e-mails.  Last week I received three; two were variations of size-related issues and the last was a rant that I’m a fake vegan because we carry 5 items (out of 951 currently in stock) that are made using free-range, hand-sheared alpaca.  One actually ended in “you disgust me.”  No, I’ve never met this person nor interacted with them in any way prior to receiving the e-mail.

Admittedly, our Plus Size selection isn’t as extensive as I might like.  With my strict criteria about fabric, finishes, dyes and human rights, plus sizes are just not that easy to come by.  I was very excited to find a new plus size eco-fashion source recently, and am happy to be expanding our plus selections this summer. 

Accusations are Unhelpful
Most of the women in my family are heavy, and it’s always been important to me that I carry items that my family could wear and enjoy.  So please don’t write to tell me, “You hate fat people,” “You can’t relate to larger women,” or “You’re not a real environmentalist,” just because I don’t carry or have something you like in your size. 

On the other hand, if you know of a brand that carries what you want, let me know.  We’ve looked into many overseas brands by request of our customers.  Some don’t export to the USA, some are very expensive or have high minimum orders that we were unable to meet.  But a few have been matches, and we’ve added several brands based on customer suggestions that are hard to find in the USA.

Show Some Compassion
I struggled with carrying alpaca, but started because several (eco-conscious but not necessarily vegan) customers explicitly asked me to find warmer coats that were truly eco.  The amazing folks at Indigenous Designs took a written stand against mulesing when approached by PETA, and really do care about the welfare of the animals that are sheared.  From their website:

Indigenous sources the majority of our alpaca fiber from outside of Arequipa, Peru in the Puno and Cusco areas, close to many artisan work groups. These alpacas are free range roaming animals with pasture rotation. The alpacas are not fed hormones and do not receive chemical dippings for ticks or parasites. There are no chemical ingredients allowed on the land or animals.

The thing is, these are just this week’s criticisms.  Every decision I make for this business is made thoughtfully. And while I would certainly not expect everyone to agree with all of them, it would be really nice if folks could avoid accusations and name calling and perhaps ask me why things are a certain way. 

Ok, in all fairness, the vast majority of e-mails and calls we get do exactly that.  So I ought to be able to just shake off this vocal minority who sends nasty notes.  But it’s hard. 

Remember People Have Feelings
This business is my passion and it means a lot to me.  It particularly stings when someone accuses me of being solely profit-driven since I earn half my previous corporate salary running my own business, and work twice the number of hours.  (I wish that were an exaggeration, but it’s not.)

Earlier this week, I saw another small business owner noting how badly they felt when they were openly criticized. So I’m writing this post for three reasons.

  1. I know the majority of my customers and readers are fantastic, understanding, socially conscious, super stars and after a week of hurtful comments, I’m reaching out to offer up some love to the good guys! 🙂
  2. To share my experience with other solopreneurs and small-business owners so they can step back, like I’m trying to do, and realize that it really is impossible to please everyone and that we shouldn’t let one person ruin our mood or our business.  It truly is impossible to please 100% of the people.  Just do your best.
  3. To provide a useful quick-link response to future e-mailers. If I sent you this link as a response to an e-mail, try e-mailing me back with a bit more civility. I’d be happy to answer your question, help you find something, or even explain my decisions as long as your remember that I’m a real, live person, not a corporate entity.  And I have feelings that can be hurt.  So please show a little respect and kindness and I’ll do everything I can to do the same.

With Love, Adrienne

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letter writer

We’ve updated our Return Policy – Here’s Why

Happy New Year!

We’re changing our return policy, and I think most of you are going to like these changes.  Here are the policy changes starting in 2013.

  • The 30 day return/exchange time limit has been increased to 60 days.
  • The partial refund policy whereby we would take shipping out of your refund if your order falls under $99 is being eliminated.  If you qualified for free shipping initially, you get to keep it even if you return some of the items.
  • We’re adding a time limit of 60 days for any claims of damage/defective merchandise.
  • And finally, all policies will be enforced without exceptions.

Ok, so that’s all of it – pretty straight forward.  But in case you’re interested, here’s why we’re making these changes.

Over the last few years, I’ve made note of what’s working and what’s not working.  In particular, it’s important to me to have policies that are fair to everyone and equally applied.  I.e. I don’t like some people getting “exceptions” while others have to follow the policy to the letter.

letter writer

So to start with, we’ve had a lot of issues with the 30 day returns.  Shipments to Europe and Australia often take 2 weeks getting there and another 2 weeks getting back, making it virtually impossible to adhere to the 30 day rule.  We’ve also had people go on vacation, get sick or any number of other things that prevent getting products back to us within a month.  The shorter timeframe is easier on our accounting system, but alas, if we have to give so many people exceptions, then the policy is not working.  So HURRAY! you now have 60 days from the original order date to get your returns back into our hands.  Please make sure you account for shipping times as we will absolutely not give refunds after 60 days.  The point is to make it doable and fair for everyone, so no exceptions.  This also eliminates the need for a holiday extension.

I originally instituted the partial refund policy to counter people “gaming” the system.  That is, buying something they knew they would return to save a few $ on shipping costs.  But the reality is, while that does happen, it’s very, very rare.  The majority of people legitimately want what they’ve purchased and occasionally something doesn’t fit or the color isn’t flattering.  And again, we’d find ourselves with exceptions.  If the order dropped from $99 to $50, the decision to charge shipping was clear, but what if dropped from $125 to $93.  Should will still charge someone $8 shipping because one of 6 items didn’t fit??  We found ourselves not implementing the policy as often as we did implement it.  So again, HURRAY! the policy is gone and we’re just going to eat that extra shipping cost.

Lastly, we had to do something about damages.  If something has a stain on it, of course we’ll replace it.  But we had folks calling – and I’m not exaggerating here – 6 months, 9 months, or even a year after they purchased something to tell us they just now washed it for the first time and it had a hole.  Even if they were being completely honest, by then it was usually too late for us to go back to the manufacturer and have them replace it.  Most of our manufacturer’s will replace damaged items for us, but not if we sold out of it a year ago or if the item has since been discontinued.  So we had to put a time limit on this.  Please check your items when you receive them.

These changes are to ensure that every customer knows exactly what our policies are and that they will be treated fairly, i.e. without worrying that others are somehow getting a better deal.  So no exceptions.  Of course, panties remain final sale and are still not returnable or exchangeable.

We’re also going to add some details of our return policy on the shopping cart page to ensure everyone sees it – and we’re adding several more links to the return policy to make it easier to find.  To see the full policy with the new changes, please visit the Returns Policy section on our Store Policies page.

Thank you and have a wonderful, healthy, happy, prosperous 2013!

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USPS truck

Product Shipping – Environmental Considerations & Customer Satisfaction

USPS truck

FaeriesDance.com ships everything through the US Postal Service.  Both UPS and Fedex have better tracking information and more integrated web-based solutions which would make switching to one of those carriers faster and more efficient for our office staff.  Unfortunately, there are 3 big downfalls to both of those options. 

First, both UPS and Fedex are more expensive than the US Postal Service when shipping small items to individuals.  If you’re shipping large freight and/or mostly to business addresses, that is not true.  But for us, the good old USPS is cheaper for more than 95% of our everyday shipping needs – including overnight.

Second, while this may seem odd, USPS is actually faster for standard shipping than either of the other carriers. Priority Mail is a standard mailing option that generally takes 2-3 business days to anywhere in the country.  Faster, cheaper shipping generally makes happier customers, so those are both good points for us.  And despite the jokes often heard about their reputation, we’ve not had a single package “lost in the mail” within the US since we’ve been in business.

Finally, although UPS and Fedex have been “greening” their trucks and delivery methods, the fact is that the US Postal Service visits almost every household in America every day anyway.  I live in a community with 89 homes.  USPS delivers to at least 80 of them every business day, whereas I’ve often seen the UPS and Fedex trucks come into the community to deliver a single package.  I have to believe that a lot more fuel is being wasted on “special trips” to single homes here and there rather than just adding a package to a destination that is already being covered.  (Though in truth, I have no data to back this up – but it seems sensible to me.)

This year we’re trying to ship more items in the cardboard envelops rather than the Tyvek bags whenever possible.  Besides the flat rate cardboard being slightly less expensive to ship, it is easier to reuse and recycle.  We are happy to point out that all of the USPS shipping supplies have achieved the environmental cradle-to-cradle certification for sustainability and health concerns.

Also, don’t worry if your package comes with some packing materials or even bubble wrap.  All of our packing materials (except the recycled tissue paper we wrap undergarments in) are reused from shipments we get in.  We like wrapping purses with metal zippers as well as jewelry in bubble wrap.  Even though we don’t use very much, early on we found we wanted more bubble wrap than we were getting.  Then a local tech company moved their offices and I got a great idea.  After the move we asked them what they were going to do with their packing supplies.  They were reusing boxes, which is good, but they were going to toss out the mounds of bubble wrap and packing materials they had purchased just for the move.  Viola!  We scored enough bubble wrap to last us for years to come and diverted it from becoming a big landfill mess.  We also bring all packing peanuts we get in to a local mailing center for reuse.  We hope you reuse the packing materials you get from us as well.  Most of these things can be reused again and again.
We’re happy to hear suggestions on packing and shipping.  One person suggested we try Freecycle to get reused packing supplies.  We’ve posted want ads, but thus far haven’t had any response.  We’re always looking for new ideas to minimize waste though; so keep the suggestions coming. 

Happy New Year everyone!

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