When I was pregnant with Hayden, I was an unabashed, non-stop research machine. If there was info out there about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and infancy, I was reading it. About the only thing that came close to vying for my time and attention was — not my job, sadly, though that would have been the right answer — shopping for baby clothes. Nevermind the fact that I didn't yet know my baby's gender, or whether s/he was going to trend large or small. I had drawers to fill! I was a junkie.

It was during my relentless scouring (better known to David as "out-of-control spending") that I chanced upon some adorable and super soft baby duds from Under the Nile that just happened to be organic and fair trade. Talk about a revelation! The last time I'd looked into organic baby goods, some four years ago when my niece was born, the offerings were bland and boring, the visual equivalent of what carnivores assume a vegetarian diet tastes like. As superficial as it may sound, the idea of organic and fair trade — pesticide-free! socially-responsible! — was so much more exciting to me than the reality. But the goodies I discovered this time around were cute, colorful, and very exciting. I was back on the bandwagon.

And lo and behold, there is now a bewildering array of stylish options, none of which "look" organic and most of which are conveniently gender-neutral. (That baby boy I thought I was having? He turned out to be a girl.) From European brands Hanna Andersson and Imps & Elfs to at least a half-dozen American companies, including Blue Canoe and Sckoon, I could build an entirely organic wardrobe for my baby if I wanted to. Or could afford to.

But since I can't afford to spend full-price, and since David has rightfully reined in my spending, I've had to figure out a game plan to go organic and stay on budget. Here's what I do: I buy my mix-and-match basics on sale from places like Old Navy and Babystyle, and then use those savings to splurge on the organic stuff at the end of the season, when it's marked down considerably. This means that I'm almost always buying a season ahead for Hayden, but it also means that I'm never spending more than, say, babyGap prices (and usually far less). Now that's what I consider fair trade and a fair deal.

Resources

• What Is Fair Trade?
• Comfy Children's Clothes, Comforting to the Earth Too
• Babysoy
• Blue Canoe Organics
• Green Babies
• Hanna Andersson
• Happy Green Bee
• Imps & Elfs
  
• Kate Quinn Organics
• Sckoon
• Speesees
• Under the Nile