Should I purchase my color guard or dance costumes on Amazon?
Of course we are all looking for ways to save money when purchasing our costumes each season. And it's no doubt that Amazon has come a long way in creating cost-effective options for groups like yours to have cute clothes. But what are the real, long-term costs of this practice?
First of all, I want to throw in that if you want to make any purchase of color guard stuff from Amazon, we would really appreciate you using our storefront to do so! You can find it at https://www.amazon.com/shop/spintronixguard. We used to earn a portion of our annual budget from AmazonSmile, which is a donation program that has been discontinued thanks to Amazon's influencer program. Now, all purchases made from our storefront link donate a portion of the sale to our non-profit organization.
Let's get into our topic today!
Cheap clothes don't last long.
This is just a fact of life. In order to bring down the cost of the finished product, companies will use cheaper materials, cheaper dying, cutting, and sewing techniques, and cheaper labor. And I've seen how hard some of these performers are on their costumes: from demanding choreography that goes into the floor multiple times during a performance, to multiple washes and spraying chemicals to avoid stinking up the bus on the way home from contests. Never mind the young teams I've seen who tend to simply toss all their costumes on the floor or in a bag after performing!
Many costume companies will do their own printing or dying of the fabric, resulting in colors that won't run or fade after being sweat in. They use proper cutting and sewing techniques that result in hems that don't roll up, and other parts of the costumes sitting properly on the body. Not to mention they use higher quality fabric that will stretch and compress with movement and won't have an issue still looking good at the end of the season - if not for multiple seasons to come!
This creates more "fast fashion" waste.
Environmentalists everywhere agree that fast fashion has become a huge contributor to climate change, pollution, and other environmental problems in our world today. If you are unsure about that, check out this article from the UN on the environmental impacts of fast fashion.
Where your dollar goes…
The money spent on Amazon, and even other fast fashion companies, goes to a corporation and into the pockets of corporate administrators. In smaller businesses, in particular American ones, it goes to the workers who create and sell the clothes! Aside from simply being an “honest living” these people are often color guard lovers who are trying to make their money in a way that fuels their passion for color guard and helps make the activity more enjoyable and rewarding for upcoming generations!
So how do you resolve this?
Purchase from companies that specialize in making guard or dance costumes.
You are going to pay more, obviously, than with fast fashion brands. However, you are going to see the difference in your quality of product and your performers.
Purchase used costumes that are made by specialized companies.
This is an excellent option that many people tend to forget to consider! Better quality costumes can be used for more seasons, and therefore can be sold and resold multiple times. You can find LOTS of options (that are never fast fashion brands) at GuardCloset.com and know you are getting quality used costumes or flags. They will even be able to resell your used items at the end of each season for you, and let you know when items have been used for the last time of their lives.
Set aside that money in your budget and consider it an investment.
Here’s the thing, if you plan well enough ahead and have any control in budgeting or fundraising for your team, it’s easy enough to name a new number for how much money to spend on costumes. Some teams have booster programs, some put the responsibility of paying onto the performers, some have sponsors that cover new costumes annually! But think of this as an investment and not just money that’s being thrown away in your program. Especially if you are able to reclaim some of the cost at the end of the season by reselling, you will have a much better season overall!
💙 Jackie
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