@kennethe62 H&M has a ton of 95% organic cotton options. I really love their clothes for babies and the ability to mix and match various sets since most items come in the same appealing colorways
Recommendations for places that sell affordable baby clothes with natural fibers/somewhat sustainable?
- Thread starter kennethe62
- Start date
therosary9
New member
@kennethe62 I have been so happy with every Burt's Bees clothing item we've been gifted-- and they run big so fit for a long time!
ukuladypdx
New member
@therosary9 Burt’s Bees aren’t big at all…. The pjs have long leg and arm parts but they are narrow. My ~80% (height/weight) girl outgrew their 18m pjs by 6 months.
@ukuladypdx Yeah they fit my child who is 30%ile for weight and 70%ile for height perfectly. Definitely not one size fits most!
therosary9
New member
@ukuladypdx Fascinating! The nb outfit I bought didn't even fit until 6 mo, but my kid is long and skinny.
So, ymmv on the fit, but I have been super happy with them!
So, ymmv on the fit, but I have been super happy with them!
@ukuladypdx I found them to run small, too.
kennethe62
New member
@therosary9 Thank you!
@therosary9 I have a 70-80% in height and weight girl and find Burt’s bees to run large as well. And that’s sampling from birth through 18 months sizing. I don’t dry her clothes, so I wonder if that’s why some have different experiences. I do believe the one time I dried a Burt’s bees item it shrank a considerable amount.
stay_with_jesus
New member
@kennethe62 Target has Burt's Bees, which is reasonable, but honestly if you want high quality natural fibers for less, you need to check out children's consignment. You can either look at places like Poshmark or you can find a local consignment shop in your area. The one near me is called once Upon a Child. I have been able to find amazing thing at killer prices. At this point almost all of her wardrobe comes from once upon a Child, and when she outgrows stuff you can sell it back. I have a basket in the bottom of her closet that I put things in as I try them on and she's outgrown them and when the basket is full I take it into once Upon a Child to sell. I usually make between 50 and $100 per plastic bin and that usually covers the next size up that we need.
kennethe62
New member
@stay_with_jesus Thanks for the insight! I will definitely shop secondhand but know other people who want to buy us clothes will not (they have different values). And they won't want to pay high prices either. Hoping to find some middle ground between fast fashion synthetics that are super gendered and the super expensive most sustainable option.
Thanks for the recommendation for Once Upon a Child, I'll be sure to look for a local one when I need to buy our baby clothes!
Thanks for the recommendation for Once Upon a Child, I'll be sure to look for a local one when I need to buy our baby clothes!
truthspoon
New member
@kennethe62 Kate Quinn but mainly sale items which makes it harder to keep updated on a registry. Same with Hanna Andersson etc. I tried to find some Etsy stores that were actually handmade, small business owners and they were often the same price or cheaper then other high end organic baby clothes. Or even better small stores not on Etsy, but that’s harder to find.
ukuladypdx
New member
@kennethe62 I thought I wanted second hand clothes for my girl and I got a lot of them in really nice condition… but then reality hit… majority of them were washed in scented detergent that could not be washed out. I tried. I wasted so many hours of my life trying to salvage them before I gave 98% of them away.
I’ve found that I really enjoy buying clothes for my girl.
I’ve found that I really enjoy buying clothes for my girl.
- Primary is probably my go to brand because they have a lot of all cotton multi colored stuff that doesn’t have stupid logos. The only item I didn’t like from them were the footed pjs (too thin and long). Otherwise their selection is great. It you get an item that is defective their customer service replaces it easily too. I stock up when they have big sales. Oh and they have a nice quality swaddle blankets too!
- Carters has good pjs and socks.
- Pediped has very good shoes for babies.
- Zutano booties. (Avoided getting these for some time but they are the only booties that baby can’t pull off and have been really useful in cold weather)
- Wool pants / top as an underlayer during cold months. I got ours from Reima. Quality-wise the outfit pills which I don’t like but we use it daily.
- Hanna Anderson has really great sweaterknit leggings (I just tried to find a link but it seems they’re out of stock though). I get stuff from them occasionally when they have sales.
- Burt’s Bees is a hit or miss. They’re 0-3 onesies were our favorite but the same onesies in size 18m were awkwardly sized. Their pjs run very thin and long and a lot of the fabrics with designs that they use are rough. I do like their crib sheets though.
kennethe62
New member
@ukuladypdx That's a good point about detergent with secondhand, I didn't think about that.
As for sizing and weather, I'm definitely nervous. I live in MN with 4 true seasons. Generally, summers are 80 to 100F and humid, whereas winters are -15 to 25F and dry. Spring and Fall are short and unpredictable. The baby is coming in the middle of summer and I have no idea if I'll need to get long sleeve long pants clothing in just 3-6m and 6-9m or if I'll need some for 0-3m too. I'm a FTM so I really have no idea what I'm doing haha.
I'll check out the brands you mentioned, thank you!
As for sizing and weather, I'm definitely nervous. I live in MN with 4 true seasons. Generally, summers are 80 to 100F and humid, whereas winters are -15 to 25F and dry. Spring and Fall are short and unpredictable. The baby is coming in the middle of summer and I have no idea if I'll need to get long sleeve long pants clothing in just 3-6m and 6-9m or if I'll need some for 0-3m too. I'm a FTM so I really have no idea what I'm doing haha.
I'll check out the brands you mentioned, thank you!
@kennethe62 So my advice for buying clothes pre baby is to not buy a lot at all and what you do buy should be versatile. Save the money you would've spent on clothes and wait until after she's born, then buy clothes as needed, only 1 to maybe 2 sizes ahead so you're not too caught off guard one way or the other. If shopping isn't therapy for you, you can even go to the sites you would've bought from now, save whatever your favorite clothes are now, and then when the time comes that you actually need those clothes, you can buy them in the appropriate size (so pick out some long sleeve onesies and a couple jackets, but don't actually buy them until August or September when you have a better sense of what size would be best).
If your baby is going to be born in summer prep for that. Short sleeve onesies out the wazoo. If you like to keep your house cold, you can buy sleep n plays, but if your AC is bad or non-existent, don't even bother with those. You will still want some pants because when you are in ac it can get chilly, and you can buy socks or booties for the same reason, but you don't need a ton. I would only buy a couple nb things if you buy any at all because they may not even fit. You can always buy more clothes after she's born if she turns out to be teeny tiny and being in one-size-too-big for a little while isn't gonna hurt her. I would mostly get 0-3 here in these warm-weather outfits. I would also get a few things in the 3-6 size following the same idea, but not a lot.
If your baby is average to large, these will cover her for most of the summer, and if your baby is teeny tiny the short sleeve onesies still work well for base layers underneath sweaters/jackets or sleepers. Regardless, the 0-3 month size should cover her for her first several weeks and then you can order/shop for more after she's born.
Definitely don't try to buy more than one or maybe two sizes ahead because it really is hard to predict not only their general sizes but also when their growth spurts are gonna happen. My son was born average, hit a basically never ending growth spurt around 6 months, quickly gaining percentiles until he reached 90th around a year, and has finally settled down and is heading back into average territory now at almost 17 months. Your girl may end up only being in 6-9 months for a month, or may stay in that size for 6 months. Additional complicating factor is that the way something fits varies wildly by material and brand. I can still easily put a pair of 9-month leggings on him despite having multiple pairs of 18-mo pants I can't get on him at all.
If your baby is going to be born in summer prep for that. Short sleeve onesies out the wazoo. If you like to keep your house cold, you can buy sleep n plays, but if your AC is bad or non-existent, don't even bother with those. You will still want some pants because when you are in ac it can get chilly, and you can buy socks or booties for the same reason, but you don't need a ton. I would only buy a couple nb things if you buy any at all because they may not even fit. You can always buy more clothes after she's born if she turns out to be teeny tiny and being in one-size-too-big for a little while isn't gonna hurt her. I would mostly get 0-3 here in these warm-weather outfits. I would also get a few things in the 3-6 size following the same idea, but not a lot.
If your baby is average to large, these will cover her for most of the summer, and if your baby is teeny tiny the short sleeve onesies still work well for base layers underneath sweaters/jackets or sleepers. Regardless, the 0-3 month size should cover her for her first several weeks and then you can order/shop for more after she's born.
Definitely don't try to buy more than one or maybe two sizes ahead because it really is hard to predict not only their general sizes but also when their growth spurts are gonna happen. My son was born average, hit a basically never ending growth spurt around 6 months, quickly gaining percentiles until he reached 90th around a year, and has finally settled down and is heading back into average territory now at almost 17 months. Your girl may end up only being in 6-9 months for a month, or may stay in that size for 6 months. Additional complicating factor is that the way something fits varies wildly by material and brand. I can still easily put a pair of 9-month leggings on him despite having multiple pairs of 18-mo pants I can't get on him at all.
kennethe62
New member
@kennethe62 I live in MN and had my baby last July. 1 I wouldn’t stock up too much on sizes. My baby was tall, and growing so fast. She’s 7.5 months and in 12-18 and sometimes 18-24 already. So don’t try to plan around the weather here with sizes, you don’t know what size your baby will be or what the weather will do. If you’re in the cities I can add another comment with some stores.
kennethe62
New member
@desiney Yes I'm due in July! And in the suburbs so the metro area.
That's helpful to know that I really can't plan on sizing and weather, I would never guess a 7.5 month old would be in 12-18 or 18-24
Do you have a recommendation of how many of things to get for each size? I'd rather do laundry more frequently than be overflowing with a ton of clothes. But I've heard babies spit up so much and need to change outfits many times a day so I'm having a hard time estimating amounts.
That's helpful to know that I really can't plan on sizing and weather, I would never guess a 7.5 month old would be in 12-18 or 18-24
Do you have a recommendation of how many of things to get for each size? I'd rather do laundry more frequently than be overflowing with a ton of clothes. But I've heard babies spit up so much and need to change outfits many times a day so I'm having a hard time estimating amounts.
@kennethe62 I don’t remember how many I bought, I definitely way overthought it though. I had a notebook where I wrote out each size and type of clothes (long sleeve, short sleeve, etc) and tallied so I could keep count of how much I had gotten in each size 
I wouldn’t stress about it, maybe get a few short sleeve and a few long sleeve onesies in newborn and 0-3, and a couple pants. Lots of zipper Jammies too, we still use these more than onesies and pants. If you want, I was going to sort our old clothes by size and post them on marketplace as “lots”, but if you want you can message me and I’d sell them to you 
I live in the metro too.
I wouldn’t stress about it, maybe get a few short sleeve and a few long sleeve onesies in newborn and 0-3, and a couple pants. Lots of zipper Jammies too, we still use these more than onesies and pants. If you want, I was going to sort our old clothes by size and post them on marketplace as “lots”, but if you want you can message me and I’d sell them to you I live in the metro too.Once upon a child
-several locations
-have seen some nice stuff depending on the location. I think Minnetonka was the one I saw lots of Hanna Anderson and Kickee Pants, and even a Kyte. I think St. Louis Park was one I got several brand name sleep sacks and swaddles for cheap. Most of them have 10/$10 onesies and sometimes they’ll even do sales that are better than that.
Buy buy baby
-Woodbury
-I rarely shop here unless I need something big and if I have a coupon, they almost always have a 20% off coupon. They also sell Primary, and I’ve seen primary on clearance here a lot.
Kid to kid
-Eagan
-secondhand store, just went for the first time last week and it looked nice! I didn’t look closely at clothes because I don’t need any right now, but it seemed like they might have some good stuff.
EDIT TO ADD: After I posted this I got an ad for them looks like a big sale!
Baby on Grand
-St Louis park
-super cute, kinda pricey. I wouldn’t shop for myself here most of the time but it’s a really great place for gifts. If your family wants to get you cute stuff and clothes and likes to shop for stuff, this would be a fun place to tell them. They have a bunch of cute clothes, a lot of bamboo brands which are super soft, and lots of wooden toys, silicon plates and bibs, etc etc.
Target and carters also both have some granola type clothes.
I’ll add more if I think of more.
-several locations
-have seen some nice stuff depending on the location. I think Minnetonka was the one I saw lots of Hanna Anderson and Kickee Pants, and even a Kyte. I think St. Louis Park was one I got several brand name sleep sacks and swaddles for cheap. Most of them have 10/$10 onesies and sometimes they’ll even do sales that are better than that.
Buy buy baby
-Woodbury
-I rarely shop here unless I need something big and if I have a coupon, they almost always have a 20% off coupon. They also sell Primary, and I’ve seen primary on clearance here a lot.
Kid to kid
-Eagan
-secondhand store, just went for the first time last week and it looked nice! I didn’t look closely at clothes because I don’t need any right now, but it seemed like they might have some good stuff.
EDIT TO ADD: After I posted this I got an ad for them
looks like a big sale!
Baby on Grand
-St Louis park
-super cute, kinda pricey. I wouldn’t shop for myself here most of the time but it’s a really great place for gifts. If your family wants to get you cute stuff and clothes and likes to shop for stuff, this would be a fun place to tell them. They have a bunch of cute clothes, a lot of bamboo brands which are super soft, and lots of wooden toys, silicon plates and bibs, etc etc.
Target and carters also both have some granola type clothes.
I’ll add more if I think of more.