Television host John Oliver discussed the real price of cheap clothing this week on his insightful and hilarious show, Last Week Tonight. I brought many of the same issues to light in a post on this blog in May of 2013, entitled “The Price of Cheap.”
One of the astounding facts I did not know, which Mr. Oliver brought to light so quickly that I almost missed it, is that the average American bought 64 items of clothing in 2013. That’s a little more than 5 items of clothing every month per person. And that’s just the average.
So for every person who bought less than 5 items a month–like me, who may have purchased 5 items in all of 2013–there’s someone who bought 10 or 12 items per month. That’s an article of clothing every 3 days.
Unless you’re entire closet was recently burglarized, there’s really no reason for this kind of consumption. It’s a waste of money, and, if you’re buying merchandise from H&M. Walmart, or The Gap, you’re simply supporting horrific working conditions, many times involving child labor, which often result in tragedy.
You can make the excuse that it’s almost impossible to know which clothing labels provide a living wage and safe working conditions for the people who manufacture their products. And a few years ago, you might have had a point. But not today.
Today we have the internet. You can find out almost anything about almost anyone, and certainly almost any company, in seconds.
So we need to own up to our part in this. Back off the constant shopping. Find quality clothing companies that make their products here in the USA, or in other countries. Make sure they treat their workers fairly. And buy their products. Tell them why you’re buying their products. Tell your friends why you’re buying their products.
Vote with your dollars. You will be heard.
– BGT
Congrats on another good post! I am frequently appalled at the amount of clothing many people have in their closets. People often have dozens, sometimes more than one hundred, tee shirts, usually with some kind of logo or writing on them. Its not unusual for people’s closets to be full to the point of bursting so that they have to keep some of their clothes in other locations around the house.
By contrast, my friends are frequently shocked, bewildered and sometimes seemingly dismayed by my more than half empty closet. But I can dress appropriately for any occasion, and by having only tasteful, understated clothes, I never feel that I am wearing the same thing over and over. It makes getting dressed simple and shopping is mostly just a matter of replacing things.
The problem is not limited to clothes however. People go to big box stores and load up shopping carts full of stuff that they do not need simply because the price is so low (and the prices are low!)
But spending money on things you don’t need is still wasteful. (I’m not even going to get into why the prices are so low, which was really the point of your post.) Plus, it leaves you with a house cluttered with stuff (junk?) that you will probably never use.
Most OMGs that I know opt for simple and elegant, tasteful and restrained. Quality over quantity. Less is more. Thanks for another very worthwhile post.
Thank you. – BGT
Thank for another wonderful blog post Byron and for the supportive comment Amy. As another example of this spendthrift nonsense, I have an employee who tells me about her mother. The parents earn a wonderful combined salary of about $200,000 per year…. but never seem to have any money left over at the end of the month for investments or to even help with college tuition for the children. But if you dig a little deeper, you learn that her mother is a compulsive “shop-a-holic”. She literally has filled all the closets to the gils so that she now fills their 2-car garage with un-used clothes. About once a year my worker and her dad empty the garage (while the mom is away) and bring thousands of dollars of un-worn clothing (tags still on) to Goodwill. And then the dad pays off the credit cards that were maxed-out to purchase this excess. Although this sounds like an extreme example, I’m afraid it is all too common in our consumption-culture that we live in. Very sad. I roll my eyes at examples like these.
Thanks, Liam. This is such a common situation. I’m shocked every time I come across it. But there you are. – BGT