Owl Light
Where Inspiration & Inquiry Converge
  • Home
  • Literary Journal
  • Owl Light Sponsorship
  • Digital Owl
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Home
  • Literary Journal
  • Owl Light Sponsorship
  • Digital Owl
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Home
  • /
  • Uncategorized

Simple Sustainability: A minimalist baby wardrobe

by Sky Trombly –

This zippered sleep and play paired with a short-sleeved onesie makes a perfect day-to-day uniform.

New parents tend to buy too many baby clothes. A few factors play into this: baby clothes are irresistibly cute (and may arrive as unexpected gifts) and it is difficult, especially as a new parent, to know how many clothes any particular baby will go through.

The result is that the collection is often so large that the baby outgrows outfits before they are ever worn. This results in household clutter and money waste, but it also has a huge global impact. The impact involves, but is not limited to:

A fleece or Terry cotton sleep and play with a short-sleeved onesie provides the extra warmth for safe sleeping. Scratch mittens are great for newborns and a hat can keep that big head warm.

− growing our cotton

(a pesticide laden crop);

− manufacture of our clothes

(and the social injustices that come to play when we outsource cheap labor);

− disposal of clothes that don’t break down in landfills and litter other nations.

The impact of what we use in baby’s first year will likely outlive them. A good documentary to watch about the impact of the clothing industry is called The True Cost (2015).

In the first year alone, a baby could potentially grow out of 6 wardrobes (preemie, newborn, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months).

What can we parents do?

For some variety, pairing a long-sleeved onesie with a pair of pants is a simple, no fuss solution. Socks have a tendency to fall off, though. I would also add a sweater on cooler days.

Firstly, we can buy used clothing or accept hand-me-downs whenever possible. If you don’t have a thrift store or a used baby gear store near to you, you could consider online sources such as eBay and click on the “used” search criteria.

But even if you can’t or won’t buy used for whatever reason, you can slash your negative impact by getting really clear about what you want for your baby’s uniform and buying a lot less overall.

While some items are in the wash and the baby is wearing an outfit, this image still gives a sense of the size of her total wardrobe. The warm winter suit combines head, foot, hand, and body covering when outside in the winter. Photos by Sky Trombly

To that end, I created a Fall/Winter uniform for my own baby that I hope can be used as a template or inspiration for like-minded parents. Keep in mind, numbers will vary depending on your wash cycle. Assume that nothing except the hats and winter body suit will be worn more than once between washes. This number makes it easy to do washes every 4 days, but could be stretched to once a week if nighttime outfits are re-worn or the number of nighttime outfits is increased. This basic format should work for cooler weather for up to 2-year-olds with only minor adjustments.

Here is baby Laura’s

(0-3 months)

Fall / Winter Wardrobe:

− 4 terry cotton or fleece “sleep and plays”, ideally the zippered kind that contain feet (ages newborn-9 months). My older kids started walking at 9 months at which point footless “sleep and plays” paired with socks may be safer or more comfortable. These, plus a “onesie” and hat, make up the nighttime uniform.

− 6 cotton “sleep and plays”, ideally the zippered variety with feet for newborn to 9 month sizes

− 10 short-sleeved “onesies”/”bodysuits”, plain white or patterned (these are a bottom layer and should have no excessive or finicky snaps or parts. I find the short-sleeved ones are easier to fit under a layer that has long-sleeves and may last longer as a baby ages.

− 4 long-sleeved “onesies”/”bodysuits”. These are outfit tops. The snaps in the diaper area keep the shirt in place and prevent bare tummies.

− 4 pants, plain is usually better as patterned tops are really common, but just keep outfit pairings in mind. These are the outfit bottoms.

− 1-2 sweaters/hoodies

− 2-4 hats

− 4 pairs of socks

− 1-4 scratch mittens

(not necessary for babies older than 3 months)

− 1 warm all-in-one winter body suit. Ideally has hood, feet, and mittens built in and a crotch so that it can be worn with a car seat.

Additionally, I keep some headbands on hand for my daughter and a few (I cap it at 5) special outfits. These aren’t a part of the uniform, are usually gifts, and are often used for pictures, holidays, or other special occasions as they tend to be less than practical.

For babies who can walk, shoes should be added to the list. Shoes before a baby can walk are purely decorative and highly annoying.

“We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors;

We Borrow It from Our Children”  – Origin Unknown

I just wanted to leave you with this quote as a reminder that our babies will not remember or care what they wear in their first year. But they will be learning from our behavior going forward.

Posted on November 17, 2017 by owllightnews.com. This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.
The Light Lens: A hard nut to crack
Once Upon A Mattress at HCSD

    Recent Posts

    • Visual Studies Workshop Announces Project Space Residency Open Application Period
    • West End Gallery showcasing Brian S. Keeler, Treacy Ziegler
    • Hard
    • Eye-Magine – Future Youth Art Exhibit
    • “These Wilds” Announcement

    Recent Comments

    • Darlene on Let’s Talk About Beep!
    • Darlene Bentley on Hello! from a new Guest Editor, and Finding Joy in Hardship.
    • owllightnews.com on The Farm
    • Douglas Morgan on The Farm
    • owllightnews.com on Energizing and Engaging Fun at GEVA

    Archives

    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017

    Categories

    • #2021
    • Agriculture
    • Animals
    • Antiques
    • Art
    • Astronomy
    • automobiles
    • Beekeeping
    • Birthday
    • Boating
    • books
    • Botany
    • Broome County
    • Buffalo
    • Canadice
    • Canandaigua
    • Cartoon
    • Children
    • Civics
    • Collecting
    • Comic Strip
    • Community Information
    • concert
    • Covid-19
    • Creative non-fiction
    • Dansville
    • Death
    • Democracy
    • Dogs
    • Editorial
    • Education
    • Environmental
    • Essay
    • Family Fun
    • Fantasy
    • Fiction
    • film
    • Finger Lakes
    • Food and Beverage
    • gallery
    • Gardening
    • Gender Rights
    • Great Lakes
    • Health
    • History
    • Holiday
    • Honeoye
    • Human Interest
    • Human Rights
    • In Memoriam
    • Innovation
    • Interview
    • Leisurely Pursuits
    • Literary Arts
    • Little Lakes
    • Live Theatre
    • Livingston County
    • media
    • Monroe County
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Naples, NY
    • Nature
    • Night Sky
    • No. 1
    • NYS
    • Obituary
    • online
    • Ontario County
    • Opinion
    • Outdoor Sports
    • OWL Light
    • Owl Light News
    • Owl Light Newsstand locations
    • Owl Light Sponsor
    • Owl Sponsor
    • OwlLight Blogpost
    • OwlLightNewsArchive
    • Performing Arts
    • Photography
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Recipe
    • Reviews
    • Richmond, NY
    • Rochester
    • Satire
    • Science
    • Scifi
    • Seniors
    • Shop Local
    • Social Justice
    • sports
    • STEM
    • Steuben County
    • Sustainability
    • Theatre
    • Tioga County
    • Tompkins County
    • Travel
    • Uncategorized
    • Veterans
    • Weather
    • Women's Rights
    • Wood working
    • writing
    • Wyoming County
    • Yates County
    • Young Adult
    • youth
    • Zoom

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
Powered by