Shopping smart doesn't always mean shopping cheap. For this school teacher, it means shopping for sustainable items. For the past few months, she's been making headline for her eco-friendly fashion.
"I am no different than anyone else,” says Julia Mooney. “I’m not on the fringe; I am very mainstream."
However, for the past 95 days, Mooney stepped away from the norm to wear a sustainable dress for 100 days straight, in hopes of enlightening those around her to shop sustainably.
"In the fashion industry, there aren't a ton of companies doing it, but the more we buy from them the more the industry will respond to that," Mooney says.
Shoppers want affordable prices, so that's why companies like H&M, Zara and Forever 21 are among some dominate brands.
Deb Henriksen, owner and head designer of a sustainable clothing line called Equillibrium, says it’s all about educating the consumer.
She says for a long time, buying sustainable was not always affordable. But now, the industry is slowly changing.
Sustainable clothing brands like Kotn, For Days and Threads 4 Thought are making more affordable clothing, comparable in price to places like H&M.
With just five days left until she reaches her 100-day mark, Mooney says she really got her money's worth from wearing her hemp dress.
"In reality, this is cheap, she says. “It was $50, but when you wear it for 100 days, that's 50 cents a day."
