http://www.clotheshorsepodcast.com/

Clotheshorse, PO Box 193, Bird in Hand, PA (2025)

01/26/2025

What adjective would best describe your feelings today? I am somewhere between rage and fear. Someone should invent a word that truly captures that combination of feelings because I think it’s going to be very popular in 2025.

When you’re bombarded by bad news and overwhelmed with fear, rage, and grief, it can be really difficult to see how you fit into making the world better. Or to even feel powerless to do anything at all. We’ve been talking about doomerism a lot around here (check out my post from last week along with last week’s episode of Clotheshorse). I think it’s reaaaaalllllly easy to slip into doomerism when you feel like you just don’t know how to help.

The thing is, we all have a choice here when it comes to any of the issues humans are facing right now: we can either be a part of the problem or we can be a part of the solution. And the good news is that you already ARE part of the solution by being here, reading this post. And many of the things you are doing already are actually radical and revolutionary!

✂️ In the era of “fast everything,” many of us are completely disconnected from how something is made/the labor and skill required to create it. By making it ourselves, we experience the work, frustration, and joy of creation. We understand why the prices of “fast everything” are an illusion, built on low quality and human exploitation.

✂️ By mending/repairing the things we love or choosing secondhand, we are turning our backs on the social norm that new is always better. We are giving a strong middle finger to a system that only makes low quality stuff for us, while exploiting people in the name of profits.

✂️ By building long term relationships with the stuff we own and wear, using/wearing it over and over again for years...repairing it when needed, we are breaking free of the convention that we should always be seen in something new and exciting. That success=a steady flow of new stuff in our lives.

THIS IS SOME RADICAL, REVOLUTIONARY THINKING!!
Yes, one person can’t make a difference alone, but when we’re all doing the same thing together (aka collective action), real change DOES happen.

01/25/2025

While most of us are probably not feeling “amazing,” this week, I gotta say this community continues to amaze me with its strength, passion, and bravery. As I talked about in my post earlier this week about avoiding doomerism, rest, good news, and joy are important parts of staying strong and energized. And that’s how we will make some positive change in this world!

I want you to take some time today to bask in pride and/or joy about something you did this week. For example, we moved into this house a year ago and this whole time, the set up in my office just didn’t feel “right.” Which is a problem because I spend so much time in here. I just never made the time to rearrange. So finally, yesterday I said “that’s it, I’m doing this and I’ll finish my other work over the weekend.” It was a semi-big project because I had to empty all of my bookshelves to move them. There was sweeping and cleaning to be done along the way. Some creative problem solving. And you know what? It’s SO MUCH better. It feels more spacious and organized. And now I can look out two different windows while I work.

Today I’m getting some groceries because I bought myself two new (secondhand) cookbooks to start the year. I’ve been in a food rut (a problem for someone who cooks at least two meals every day). So I’m trying a bunch of new stuff this week. And I’m also going to continue my search for a glass measuring cup. Maybe today will be the day.

And the last thing I’m happy about? Last night we got a new (secondhand) dryer via Craigslist. Our previous dryer was $50 from FB Marketplace and over the last year, it has slowly died and it is not repairable. Why? Because the company no longer makes the parts. COOL MOVE GUYS. And it was having a major negative impact on our electric bill. I hang out laundry outside to dry the moment the weather is about 60 degrees, but that’s still a few months away. I still hang most of my clothes to dry inside, but for things like towels, a dryer is kinda necessary. So we found this very fancy secondhand dryer and it is going to be game changer.

Okay, tell me what is bringing you happiness and/or pride this week!

01/23/2025

“Don’t give your money to assholes.”

It’s the original Clotheshorse-ism. And sure, it’s a catchy phrase, but it also means something bigger: using our power as consumers to force change and accountability from the businesses selling us stuff. It’s an important part of the slow fashion way of life!

I used to say “your money is a vote” pretty often, but I stopped mostly because I felt like it created the illusion that we can shop our way to a better world. We can’t do that.

BUT I have also learned that only two things will force any industry (particularly the fast fashion industry) to make a change: the law and lost sales (even the fear of lost sales). We can support the law side of it by voting, protesting, starting petitions, and calling/emailing our representatives....basically joining forces as a community and making our voice heard collectively. The lost sales aspect is kinda easy, too: we just stop giving these companies so much money. When it’s one individual, it doesn’t mean much. But when it’s all of us (or even most of us)...well, that’s IMPACT!!

I share a list of the companies I try to skip in this post, but I can assure you, the list is much longer (only so much space on a little square to work with). I am so extra about this that I won’t even support businesses that have treated friends/family poorly. Who are YOU skipping? Tell us in the comments!

If you enjoy these kinds of conversations and want to have more with members of your immediate community, consider joining us for the 2/5 virtual workshop “How to talk to others about slow fashion.” It is a fundraiser for LA! Get the details in the pinned post on my profile.

P.S. Yes, I’m aware that I am currently posting this on a social media platform that many people are boycotting right now. But as this post explains, these decisions are not always simple. And I feel that it is important to remain around here for my community AND to reach new people who may be feeling as hopeless and frustrated as I am.

01/22/2025

LET’S SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER!

Via basically a landslide vote, y’all decided you wanted the fundraiser workshop topic to be “How to talk to be others about slow fashion.”
So let’s do this!

The full details are in the slides! What will we discuss in this virtual workshop?

★ Why it’s important to talk about fast fashion/slow fashion with the people in your life. 
★ How to start these conversations without being a total party pooper.
★ How to meet people where they are (and avoid using shaming or blaming language). 
★ How to deal with common responses like “talking about fast fashion is classist” or “there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism.” 
★ Sharing our own stories/successes/challenges in having these conversations.

And of course, we’ll also be spending some quality time together!

If you want to buy tickets for friends, just go ahead and you can forward the event info to them after I email it to you.

This event will be virtual and all of the money will be donated to GoFundMe’s with less than 20% of their goal. I made this decision after listening to an NPR story about how these fundraisers have been pivotal for getting money in the hands of fire survivors super fast, so they can pay for housing, personal items, food, etc.

Thank you to all of you who have been involved so far. I’m so grateful for this amazing, compassionate community that always wants to help others!

01/22/2025

Despair. Apathy. Not believing that things can change and be better. Just fully discounting any possibility of progress. Have you struggled with these feelings? It’s called doomerism and you’re not wrong for feeling that way.

This week’s episode of the podcast is all about fighting off doomerism. It’s something that I have been thinking about since my trip to Japan, scribbling down ideas for it as I spent hours on trains. I’ve spent the past few months thinking about where and how we can find the strength and motivation to stay active.

In this episode:
★ I share what I learned on my desert road trip in search of optimism, with stops at National Parks and more than one geodesic domes.
★ I share my advice (gained through experience and lots of reading about this topic) for saving yourself from doomerism, while also building up your strength and energy to keep fighting the good fight.
★ And I’ll talk about why I’m staying on social media.

I think we all have our own tools for coping in a world that sometimes makes it really difficult. What do you do to stay strong? I listen to a lot of music (right now I’m alternating early 80s country music from my childhood with a lot of stoner metal). I sing silly songs that I make up on the fly. I spend quality time snuggling Brenda. I talk to my friends on the phone...Courtney from called me last week and it was seriously such a highlight. I make up 1000 inside jokes with Dustin. I read a lot of books and more than ever, I’m trying to reduce my doomscrollng.

P.S. All images are from a very beat up vintage board book called “Animal Toys.” It’s one of my favorite secondhand finds. I knew when I found it that someday I would use it for this doomerism post…and I have to say, working on these images was fun project.

01/20/2025

I am sticking around this place.

I am seeing a lot of posts about walking away from social media, particularly the Meta platforms. Several small businesses in the slow fashion space have posted/emailed about that topic this week. And while I respect their reasons for leaving, it wasn’t an easy decision for me to make. Naturally I had a lot of thinking to do. On one hand, leaving social media would save me a lot of time and energy. Because OMG I put so much time into social media.

But then I really start to think about it…if we all leave social media, then who is left to share the real facts? The real inspiration? The real hope? Does social media just become an echo chamber of the worst aspects of humanity? Ultimately, walking away means that we are allowing ourselves to be silenced. Sorry, but bad people have been trying to shut me up my whole life.

I’ve also seen how social media can bring people together, build community, and change some minds. It is a lifeline for those of us who have felt alone in our worries and thoughts.

So I’m sticking around for now. I can’t say it will be forever, but I’m trying my hardest to fight the good fight.

I hope you will be there with me.

P.S. New episode about how to avoid doomerism coming out in a few hours, so keep an eye out for it!

01/18/2025

SHOULD I POST THIS ON LINKEDIN?! 🐴

Dear CEOS:

You are nothing without the people making all of the products you sell.

You are nothing without the people packing and shipping all of your orders.

You are nothing without the people working in your stores.

You are nothing without the corporate teams designing your products and keeping things running.

You are nothing without your customers.

You are making a lot of decisions that seem to indicate that you are unaware of these things: overworked/underpaid employees, understaffed stores, and low quality product that destroys your customers’ trust.

Fortunately there are many emerging brands and businesses who know that things can be done better. Who are committed to doing better for everyone (and the planet). And guess what? They are stealing your customers away. They are building loyalty and trust with them. Your remaining customers are just waiting around for the next big sale or discount code.

It turns out that prioritizing profits over people eventually turns into no profits.

01/16/2025

I recently had a massive and very scary panic attack. My anxiety has been building since about October, with despair and depression joining it after the election. I have also been exhausted. In addition to all of the work I do on Clotheshorse (which is a full time job), I work a full time job that actually pays my bills, my kid’s tuition, etc. I also help a wild number of people with school projects, do free talks for classes and clubs, and act as a quasi-therapist/cheerleader for many people I only know from social media. I like helping!

Exhaustion + anxiety + depression...well, that’s a recipe for an impending panic attack. It was a wake up call that I needed to make some personal decisions that I think will set me up for a good 2025:

★ I am saying “no” more often. I hate saying that word, but I also have to have time to live life (relax, sleep, clean, read, whatever), and in 2024, I really did not have that. If I say no to you, know that I would love to say yes if I just had five more hours in the day. If it takes me a while to respond to your email or DM, know that it’s not because I don’t care, I just don’t have time right then. It’s not you, it’s me.

★ I am calling out misinformation I see on social media (and helping you learn how to spot it). We tend to think that false information is a problem on the other side of the political spectrum, but alas, there is a ton of that happening on the progressive side, too.

★ I am calling out people who are rude, mean, or sh*tty to me. I usually just compartmentalize that stuff, but it’s been taking a toll. Last year I dealt with strangers telling me I’m ugly, stupid, and mean. Also: stalking and harassment that extended to my family members. NOT OKAY.

I’m kinda “meh” on the idea of resolutions, but I do like the idea of creating goals and priorities. So these are my personal goals. It makes me feel optimistic about a better, more productive, more impactful 2025, even if I still feel queasy about next Monday.

What are you doing differently (on a personal level) this year?

01/15/2025

Earlier this week I asked you all to weigh in on two different fundraiser ideas I had to raise money for survivors of the LA fires. Votes were split pretty evenly between the two options....so I am doing both of them!

You can learn more by reading all of the slides (and this caption).

This post is primarily about the small business raffle! The prize is four hours of small business coaching/consulting with me, Amanda! And yes, you can absolutely gift this prize to someone else or just show up to chit chat. Whatever! I just wanted to help LA (seriously the most magical city in the United States IMHO) in any way I could!

If you're like "WTF why is this internet dummy trying to get me to want business advice from them," please learn more about me and my professional experience via my website (which also leads to my Linkedin profile). How I really make my living is NOT from creating aesthetic posts about slow fashion, but actually as a merchandising, planning, and financial coach for a variety of businesses of all sizes. If you meet with me, we are going to look at a lot of spreadsheets!

HOW TO ENTER:
★ This is a raffle and tickets are $10 each.
★ Enter as many times as you like. Every dollar raised goes to benefit various mutual aid fundraisers.
★ You can buy your tickets via Venmo or Paypal: Venmo: Paypal:
★ Send money as “friends and family” so we don’t lose a portion to fees.
★ Include your instagram handle and number of tickets in the memo (so I can find you).

The raffle ends Saturday, 1/18 at midnight. I will choose a winner Sunday morning! The winner will be notified via DM, and then we will move to email for the next steps.

All money raised will be distributed among GoFundMe’s with less than 20% of their goal reached (an ever changing list managed by 5PM Lucky).

A special request to all of you who have worked with me on a professional level, either via one-on-one sessions or SBBP, it would be great if you could share your experience working with me in the comments so we can get people excited about this!

P.S. Thanks to for showing us all how to do a raffle like this. You're the best!

01/08/2025

e all have had that moment (and we might not know it when it is happening) when we realized that it was time for a major change.

I worked as a buyer in fast fashion from the 00s until 2020. Before that I worked retail for years. I saw how many things were wrong with the way clothes are made and sold. The mountains of plastic bags.The low wages and lack of consistent scheduling. The way we would all be kept just under regular full-time hours so we couldn’t get benefits. The policies that reminded us every day that the company believed we were all criminals first, bodies to do a job second.

Someone asked me how I cope with the impact I had on the planet as a buyer in fast fashion. And I have to tell you, it’s hard! I got the chance to have a career I never saw coming. It lifted my child and me out of poverty. Previously we couldn’t even afford to take the bus! So I am grateful that for years we could afford rent and food, although I was not paid a living wage for a person with a child until about TEN years into my career. I guess it’s not surprising when you remember that this industry always prioritizes profits over people.

I knew that I was part of a horrible machine, but I also knew I had nothing without my job. Even in the corporate offices, many are paid just enough to keep them around, but not enough to save money and walk away. So I pushed my concerns deep into the darkest corners of my brain.

Leading up to 2020, I found it harder to avoid thinking about the impact of fast fashion. My friend Gilly had shared a post by and I started following him. It felt good to know that I wasn’t the only person having doubts about fashion. But work and family kept me too busy to think too hard.

And then I lost my job at the beginning of the pandemic, after being forced to spend two weeks cancelling every order we had placed, even if those garments were already made and shipped. I knew the people who made those clothes weren’t going to be paid. And for me, enough was enough. Clotheshorse was born from that, as I wondered if others might want to learn just how unglamorous (but wildly impactful) making clothing really was.

12/23/2024

This week’s episode is coming out late tonight/early tomorrow because...our well broke and we didn’t have any water! That’s fixed now (we actually had to call in a professional for this one). But now I have to run out and buy some last minute food items for some special meals this week.

So here’s one of my favorite posts of the year!

Sometimes self care is making fake things with photoshop.

I spend a lot of time daydreaming about how we can reach people with the message of slow fashion (and why it’s important to dismantle fast fashion). Dreaming is an important part of making change in this world! And I have a ton of ideas, from doing presentations for church groups and school clubs, to making a full on television show. Or my personal favorite: dropping a dump truck full of discarded clothing in a mall parking lot and then sorting through it, calling out the brands we see most often.

One of the ideas that Dustin and I obsess (and laugh) over is taking out anti-fast fashion billboards. It began as “Wouldn’t it be hilarious and amazing to make a billboard in downtown Portland (Nike headquarters) that says “Yes, Nike is fast fashion?” But then it turned into “Polyester is plastic” right before the mall exit on the highway.

We probably won’t take out billboards ($$$) but here’s some fake ones that make me really happy.
And P.S. If you like these slogans, some of them are available as iron-on transfers and stickers on my website. Link in bio.

🐴 Please do not repost these on your profile, but sharing in Stories is encouraged!! Why don’t I want you to repost my content? Because I want you to support my work by sending your friends and followers to me! People tend to NOT read captions, so they are likely to assume that you created this content. Thanks in advance for respecting this request!

Source for the 6 generations stat: British Fashion Council

12/15/2024

Many of you have been sending me this rad video from about why clothes are kinda garbage these days. And all of you who have sent it have said something like “you should watch this, you’ll really like it.”

I DO like it because...I AM IN IT! Yep, that’s me in the video talking about my experiences as a buyer in fast fashion. And then weighing clothing with my kitchen scale. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my stories. You can find the full video on YouTube, too.

New clothes ARE kinda garbage these days, from low quality synthetic fabrics...to zippers that are a problem from the very first wear...to lack of detail and poor fit. And the low quality and short lifespan of this clothing is creating an environmental and ethical crisis for the planet and its people.

Early this year I released a three part series of the podcast about why new clothes are kinda garbage these days.

Among other things in that series, we discuss:

★ What is planned obsolescence and how does it impact cars, phones, electronics...and clothing?
★ The process of clothing creation, from design to sample to finished product.
★ The changes buyers make to hit the profitability targets set by company leadership.
★ How fabric is a big part of the formula (and why so many garments are synthetic now).
★ How overproduction is impacting product quality.
★ How the illusion of free shipping is widening economic inequality AND driving down the quality of the things we buy.
★ How the nonstop parade of DEALZ DEALZ DEALZ is also responsible for a sharp decrease in clothing quality, along with some examples of clothing being cheaper now than it was in the 1990s (with a special cameo from Delias).
★ And how/why brands will continue to make terrible clothes as long as we are still buying them.

See? I told you it is a lot to break down! You can start the series with episode 187.

Just about every garment produced by fast fashion brands starts as a great design....that is “too expensive” to make in order to meet pricing and profitability targets. So the team chips away at it until the math starts to math. And often you’re left with something that only slightly resembles the original design.

12/08/2024

Many of you have been asking for Clotheshorse merch for years. It’s an issue I have turned over and over in my mind. You know how I feel about merch and promo tees. And I didn’t want to be making more stuff for the landfill.

After SO much research, testing, feedback and votes from you, this summer I found a merch situation that feels okay for me: iron-on transfers and stickers. My hope is that you will use the transfers on thrifted shirts or other tote bags, shirts, textiles that you already have lying around. Let’s get even more life out of something that already exists!

About all of it:
★ The iron-on transfers are printed in the US using direct-to-film technology by Ninja Transfers. I even checked the Glassdoor reviews for this company to ensure that they weren’t a bunch of a jerks. The transfer is softer and more durable than a vinyl transfer. You can easily iron them on with a home iron (you will receive instructions with your order). They can also cover existing screenprints.

★ The stickers are printed in the US by using eco-solvent ink in its LEED certified facility that runs off of 100% carbon free & 78% renewable energy. Sticky Brand repurposes excess materials into artwork and clothing. The company plans to transition to zero landfill waste by the end of this year. The stickers are made to stand up to weather, the dishwasher, and the sun.

More details on the product pages and in this carousel (including some of the most frequently asked questions). Link in bio

Everything that is shown available for purchase is in-stock and ready to ship RIGHT NOW for your holiday slow gifting! Also, some of the older transfer designs are temporarily “on sale” for 40% until Christmas.

Remember, neither of these items are without impact. I did my best to mitigate it, but no purchase is ever perfect. Both items include plastic elements (like most screen print inks and stickers). Furthermore, we can’t forget the shipping and packaging. So think carefully before making your purchase.

12/01/2024

🎼🎼🎼 On the Eighth Day of Slow Gifting, my cat Brenda said to me...SHIPPING IS NEVER REALLY FREEEEEEEEE!
And furthermore, the myth of free shipping actually FUELS overconsumption!!

It’s expensive to ship something. But unfortunately big businesses have been luring us in with promises of free shipping. It gets us to spend more money, more often. The era of free shipping began in earnest with Amazon Prime. Suddenly shipping was no longer the luxury, the service that it had once been. Time after time consumer insights research has indicated that customers are more likely to shop with a brand if they offer free shipping and free returns. Everywhere I have worked, we have found that free shipping equals a massive increase in sales. Remove the sense of risk that a customer has around paying for shipping...and they will open their wallets. After all, if the order doesn’t work out and they return it all for free, too...what did they lose? Nothing.

But retailers aren’t just going to accept less profits in exchange for offering that free shipping. Nope, they will make it up in other ways. The era of free shipping has changed the quality of the things we buy, resulted in a lot more impulse shopping, and pushed down workers’ wages around the world.

Furthermore, free shipping affects small businesses, too. They can’t afford to cut costs in other ways or underpay their employees (if they even have employees). The pressure for free shipping actually takes money directly out of the pockets of small business owners.

WE ALL PAY FOR FREE SHIPPING!
Last year I wrote a piece about dismantling the myth of free shipping for . I urge you to go read it at bit.ly/TheCostOfFreeShipping I will also share it in Stories!

PLEASE do not repost this on your profile…but it’s fine—and encouraged—to share in your stories!!!! Clotheshorse is also a small business and information/content is MY product. So show your support by sending more people my way!

11/26/2024

🎼🎼🎼 On the Fourth Day of Slow Gifting, my cat Brenda said to me...Let's revisit Black Fridayyyyyyyyyy!

I'll just go ahead and confess that I used to get really stoked about Black Friday. My grandma and I would get up early and hit the mall in search of DEALZ DEALZ DEALZ. We would have lunch at Denny's. It was a fun day, mostly because I got to have lots of quality time with my grandma and shopping with her is always a good time. But then I got myself a career in buying, and soon I was planning all of those Black Friday "deals." Suddenly they weren't that fun any more. The last time I took my grandma out for BF shopping, we went to Kohls and I was just filled with rage the entire time. I wanted to scream THESE ARE NOT GOOD DEALS! See why in the slides!

🎁 Shaming people for shopping on Black Friday is completely ineffective and it makes you look like a classist jerk! Like, if you're using "trashy" and "Black Friday" in the same sentence or you're making fun of people engaging in BF, I want you to do some serious reflection about that.

🎁 This is where sharing knowledge comes into play! For one, industry experts say that Black Friday no longer offers the best deals, now that we have a million other shopping holidays throughout the year (like Prime Day). So if you are looking for a good deal on something specific, you might find it at a different time of the year. Now imagine telling your favorite Black Friday fanatic that those DEALZ DEALZ DEALZ are designed to be on sale. That’s mind blowing! 🤯

🎁 However, if there’s something you’ve been wanting (or someone on your gift list happens to want) and it’s on sale on Black Friday, go for it! The point of revisiting our relationship with Black Friday is breaking up with impulse shopping and buying stuff we don’t really want/need, not giving us an opportunity to feel superior to others.

PLEASE do not repost this on your profile…but it’s fine—and encouraged—to share in your stories!!!! Clotheshorse is also a small business and information/content is MY product. So show your support by sending more people my way!

Does anyone else have memories of BF shopping with their family? Tell us in the comments!

11/26/2024

🎼🎼🎼 On the Third Day of Slow Gifting, my cat Brenda said to me...Shop small (and f*ck Amazon)! Yes, she really did say that, including the F-bomb. Brenda is known for her love of swearing! IYKYK

🎁 If you're stressed about widening wealth inequality, if you think billionaires shouldn't exist, if you believe that the best gifts do the right thing for the planet and its people...then shop small (and )!

🎁 Even if you don't have $$$, there are other ways you can show your support. Sharing and saving posts on IG is a massive help! As you all know, I am using my platform to shout out and support as many small businesses as possible, via my weekly roundups, audio essays, and instagram stories. Guess what? You have a platform, too!!! Share your favorite small businesses in stories, on posts, with friends, etc. This time of year is SO IMPORTANT for small business owners and often determines how and if a business will exist next year. Let's show our community of makers and sellers our support!

Tag some of your favorite businesses (or share your favorite small business gift ideas) in the comments!

📣📣📣 I also want to remind all of you small business owners that the deadline to submit your audio essay is about a week away. Find out all the details in the pinned post on my profile that says "Ethical Small Business Is The Future."

🐴🐴🐴 PLEASE do not repost this on your profile…but it’s fine—and encouraged—to share in your stories!!!! Clotheshorse is also a small business and information/content is MY product. So show your support by sending more people my way!

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