As I was putting on my coat to head out, I noticed a label on one of Smallsteps' coats, which is pictured below. And yes, she has plural "coats" because this is Finland where they say, "there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing". But, because of the amount of clothes required and the budget we are on, we end up shopping at places like H&M, which is relatively cheap for the quality, but also getting far more expensive than it was, not so long ago.
H&M is fast fashion.
Perhaps one of the original fast fashion companies.
I am not a fan of fast fashion, however, some of the quality of the clothes, especially in the kids clothes, is good enough that it can be handed down - though it might require choosing the pieces and materials carefully. However, one of the problems I find today is that it doesn't matter much which brands I buy, or how much I pay, very few of them last. While there are plenty of things wrong with fast fashion, from environmental issues to labour conditions, the more expensive brands seem to be unable to make anything much better, despite price tags several times higher, or more.
A lot of the clothes Smallsteps gets is from friends and family with older children, so as they grow out of it, we get it. We do the same for others. I grew up with three older brothers, so I know what it is like to get hand-me-downs. Worse though, they are a fair bit older than me, so not only are they used, they were from styles that were not yet back in fashion - but had been out of fashion for so long, it was getting close.
But they were in good condition.
And this is the problem with appealing to "environmental consideration" to the buyer, because the corporations are looking to maximize their profits regardless of the environment by making things highly disposable, not built to last. Clothes would last, cars would last, consumer electronics would last - and everything was reparable. Now, it is cheaper to throw it away than get it repaired, if you can find a repairer that is. And very little can be repaired at home, without expert knowledge, specialized equipment and a lot of practice. Which is fine, until you factor in how many other tasks are on the list these days.
Essentially, while the push to be more environmentally sustainable might be a worthy cause, it can't be left up to the consumers, especially when there is a cost of living crisis, because it unattainable. People have needs, when prices are increasing and incomes are not, they become more price sensitive. And, then those who can afford are not getting their money's worth anyway, and the good are no more sustainable than the cheaper ones - so they are just bankrolling the luxury brands to improve their marketing campaigns and further maximize their profits.
If things aren't built to last either by quality or style anyway, why pay more for it? The environment? Sure, but if that isn't legislated and it is up to the consumer, it isn't going to happen. All it does is move the burden of guilt to the consumer, even though the incentive for the corporations is still to drive profits by reducing the cost of manufacturing by lowering quality and the salaries paid. It sets up a race to the bottom for quality, and puts less money in the pockets of consumers to spend also - setting up a cyclical system that is definitely not geared toward environmental sustainability.
Perhaps if the goal was to reduce consumption, clothing would be priced based on sizes. Why should an extra small shirt cost the same as an extra large? Perhaps there should be an income tax rebate for people who keep their cars longer, or get their TV repaired, rather than buying a new one. Maybe there should be incentives for consumers that do right, rather than incentives for corporations that do wrong.
Fast fashion is not just a reflection of consumerism, it is one of the economy as a whole. It isn't set up for sustainability, it is set up for profit. Just like I think that the economy should incentivize wellbeing, where the most profits come from improving humanity - that would include activities that reduce harm to the environments in which we live, or perhaps even, do some good.
Too expensive to do good?
No. The economy doesn't care about the prices. We do, and the corporations do. Consumers are looking to save as much as we can, and corporations are looking to make as much as they can.
It is unsustainable.
Taraz
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I was the oldest kid, and larger than the brother who’s 14 months younger than me, so the only hand-me-down clothes I ever got were from my mom’s cousin. Years later, when we lived with my grandfather in wealthy town (he’d bought his house a generation earlier when it was merely upper middle class), my much younger baby brother wanted to give a pair of jeans that he’d outgrown to a friend of his. Not sure how my mom talked him out of it, but as the kid’s dad had just given $7 million dollars to his alma mater, the kid wasn’t hurting for clothing.
Edited to add:
We moved in with my widowed grandfather when he was getting too old/infirm to care for the house/yard on his own. Damn, just realized I’m now almost exactly the age that he was when we moved there.
Unrelated, but it reminds me of some friend's kids who for one of their friend's birthdays, they were going to get him an iPhone--- like, what the hell? They didn't have jobs.
Reality bites.
I was going to say, it's not just clothes these days, it seems to be pretty much everything. It's just horrible. Especially the bigger more expensive things!
The world is a landfill.
I am blessed to have been taught to mend, darn, alter, and sew new clothes. The more expensive brands are often (though not always) sewn with more care and can be altered or repaired to extend their usefullness. The cheap clothes made with slave labor in China are not worth repairing or altering. !BBH
Me daughter got a small sewing kit in her calendar this year, the elves knew I am going to start teaching her to repair ;) Firstly buttons, easy seams etc.
I used to see this, but it is not the case a lot of the time now unfortunately. It still requires checking the quality before buying, which requires knowing something about how they are made. It is not enough just to "pay more" these days and trust.
!PIZZA
I'm a firm believer that government should regulate fast fashion and fast fashion advertising. The consumer cannot be trusted and are easily mislead. Fucking Temu a case in point -@aggressive marketing, ruthless business practices, ethically dubious... Yet at the beach today I heard a heap of 'hippie' boho chica talking about getting their party gear from Temu. Wait what - plastic shit shipped from China? Gah.
Remember that all the social activists on Twitter, are updating their account from 2000 dollar iPhones built in Chinese factories where they have problems with suicide rates.
Temu is now the number one online store in Finland for over fifties. :D
Jesus. It's like double think. You can hold the thought 'i care for the environment ' and 'i love temu' in your head simultaneously.
interesting thoughts on consumer goods quality, cultural habits of public handmdowns and as always these days, the stories end with greed being a big part of the equation.
Greed is always part of the economic equation. We are all greedy in some way, but some activities are more damaging than others.
I don’t have much money now, so my youngest son still has jackets from his older brother. But I used to buy expensive clothes, so he’s glad that the jackets are good :)
I think it is good to teach kids to use until unusable and unrepairable :)
One of my favorite clothes was a coat that belonged to my dad when he was young. I haven't seen anyone else wearing something like that. I liked that- I felt very unique. Sadly my mother threw that coat away a few years ago...
That reminds me. After my grandad died, I found an old 1940s Burberry coat. It was immaculate and fit perfectly - except the sleeves were too short!
Capitalism requires this. The clothes we use and the technological devices we use must have a short lifespan so that we will not buy them again.
Buy, use, throw away. rinse and repeat.
@tarazkp! @fiberfrau likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @fiberfrau. (1/20)
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$PIZZA slices delivered:
@fiberfrau(1/5) tipped @tarazkp
Your analysis hits the nail on the head. The burden of sustainability cannot be solely placed on consumers especially during a cost of living crisis.
The statement "Too expensive to do good? No the economy doesn't care about the prices. We do and the Corporations do" is particularly poignant. It highlights the need for a paradigm shift in how we approach sustainability and economic growth.