<
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/23529587/consumer-goods-quality-fast-fashion-technology>
"My beloved 10-year-old black bra finally broke last Christmas. The elastic had
some slack and it’d been fraying for a while, but its death sentence came when
the underwire popped out the side. While it wasn’t particularly special — just
a normal T-shirt bra — it was comfortable and had clearly lasted a long time.
So, I did what any sensible person who is afraid of change would do: bought the
exact same thing, from the same brand, again.
I eagerly waited for my shipment of my new bras (in two trendy colorways!) to
come in. When they arrived, I noticed that there were a few key differences:
there was a new fourth clasp, the band was tighter, and the material was a
whole lot softer. Certainly, these were improvements, I thought.
I was wrong.
Within a few washes, the hooks had become mangled, unable to neatly adhere
themselves to the clasps. Instead, they would claw at my back. The straps
frayed quicker than I expected. Nothing changed in my care; I had assumed that
because I treated my previous bra carelessly throughout my teens and college
years, these new versions could withstand similar conditions.
I felt unmoored for months. Why would the same item be worse years later?
Shouldn’t it be better? But here’s the thing: My lackluster bra is far from the
only consumer good that’s faced a dip in comparative quality. All manner of
things we wear, plus kitchen appliances, personal tech devices, and
construction tools, are among the objects that have been stunted by a concerted
effort to simultaneously expedite the rate of production while making it more
difficult to easily repair what we already own, experts say.
In the 10 years since I bought that old bra, new design norms, shifting
consumer expectations, and emboldened trend cycles have all coalesced into a
monster of seemingly endless growth. We buy, buy, buy, and we’ve been tricked —
for far longer than the last decade — into believing that buying more stuff,
new stuff is the way. By swapping out slightly used items so frequently, we’re
barely pausing to consider if the replacement items are an upgrade, or if we
even have the option to repair what we already have. Worse yet, we’re playing
into corporate narratives that undercut the labor that makes our items worth
keeping."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
