Used gifts?

Generally I don't like shopping. Given the pressure to pick something that someone else will like, shopping for gifts is especially stressful. And, if you are trying to avoid buying new things (a la the Compact) as I am, gift giving is especially tough. Two of my co-workers are expecting a baby soon and the shower is this week. Since I work quite closely with both Mom and Dad (one of them reports to me) I wanted to get them something nice. I surfed the web and found several children's consignment stores in San Francisco and selected one of them. Chloe's Closet in Bernal Heights is walking distance from the 24th St. BART station. It's an easy place to shop (well-organized and not too big). I selected 3 items (a shirt, a one-piece and a sweater). They are so little and cute.

I also stopped by a used bookstore near by and bought a book for the big sister-to-be. This is a nice little business district. Besides these stores, I found a grocery store with lots of organic produce and a small shop with local artisanal food.

I'm happy with my purchases, but the dilemma remains. Are used clothes an appropriate gift? I hope so. Do gifts need to be new? I'd like to think that the answer is no. The parents will get more clothes then if I had paid for new ones, and some clothes in apparently like-new condition will get a new home other than a landfill. I think its win-win, but I have this nagging thought that I've committed some grave social sin. In front of me at the cash register was a woman buying consigned clothes as a gift. My thought: oh good, I'm not the only one. Behind me was a woman returning the consigned clothes she had bought because the Mom-to-be to whom they were given didn't want her child wearing "used clothes". My thought: eek, I hope my colleagues don't feel that way.