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We’re buying 60 per cent more clothes now than we did 15 years ago. This is something I find baffling. I have a clothes closet and a chest of drawers. They com

We’re buying 60 per cent more clothes now than we did 15 years ago. This is something I find baffling. I have a clothes closet and a chest of drawers. They comfortably hold more than enough for me to go a week or two without doing laundry. When I've worn too many holes in something for me to patch and use as outdoor work wear it goes in the garbage. That people have such an addiction to buying new clothes they have to throw away or donate intact clothes is utterly perverse.

bserge 5y ago
That you're downvoted shows the general mindset of people. They just don't give a fuck. Spare me the "do your part to save the planet" next time. I'm already doing more than 99% ever will. Yeah, when it comes to clothes I wear them for years. I feel bad throwing out stuff that's literally unfixable. But I ain't quite right in the head tbf.
- Causality1 5y ago
  I try to keep the ruined stuff around long enough to use for an oil rag or barrel cleaning patch. After this article I may put a little more effort into doing that.
apercu 5y ago
Retail therapy. More people than ever are disconnected and deeply unhappy and advertising increases the social pressure by telling people they will be happier if they buy "this" or "that".
vidarh 5y ago
In high school at one point when discussing the amount of agricultural space goes to cotton, the teacher asked how many pairs of trousers we each had. I had two. I hated going shopping, and two was enough for me to wear one pair while the others were in the wash. A bit on the low end, maybe. I have a few more now, but still mostly cycle 2-3. Several of my class mates claimed to have 40+. I couldn't even imagine that. More than a dozen was the norm. Totally baffling to me as well. It just feels like added stress.
- II2II 5y ago
  This is true of young children as well. They will notice if someone (another child or adult) cycles through a small set of clothes and comment on it, which can easily be construed as peer pressure.
  - vidarh 5y ago
    With young kids though, a lot of the time it's down to the parents. I know most of my son's clothes are a result of his mum wanting to buy him things. Only a tiny proportion are things he wanted.
- ghaff 5y ago
  If you count all the specialized trousers (a lot of which aren't cotton) for various types of activities, the number in my house definitely gets up there even if I discount things like sweatpants and old trousers I use as work pants. Most of my unnecessary bulk though is logoware from tradeshows and the like which I don't go out of my way to accumulate but still adds up over time as I (normally) do a lot of that type of thing.
  - vidarh 5y ago
    Specialized clothes if you engage in activities that'd benefit from it, I can understand. But for most in my class these were all jeans, only differentiated in appearance, if that.
nsxwolf 5y ago
I don't own very many clothes at all. I don't understand fashion and I find it frustrating to find things that fit and are comfortable, so I keep the rare things I find acceptable around for a long time. But let's get something straight: I rarely look good.
- Causality1 5y ago
  I just settled on a uniform I was happy with: jeans and a plaid button-down every day. No mismatching and no decisions.
kipchak 5y ago
From the article, "A major survey in the UK six years ago found one in three young women considered garments “old” if they had been worn just twice." I'm like you, but I think there's a pretty big disconnect between us and the average person into fashion.
- VLM 5y ago
  You can manipulate surveys to generate any requested outrage. Generally you can assume any mention of a survey is propaganda and can be ignored. Its pretty trivial to imagine how this desired result was produced: "Would you be angry if you paid a falsely advertised full 'new' price for a garment actually worn by others at least three or more times?" I know I'd be pretty annoyed if I paid full "new" price for shoes and they arrived and someone else has been wearing the tread off of them for the last six months, LOL.

bserge 5y ago

That you're downvoted shows the general mindset of people. They just don't give a fuck. Spare me the "do your part to save the planet" next time. I'm already doing more than 99% ever will. Yeah, when it comes to clothes I wear them for years. I feel bad throwing out stuff that's literally unfixable. But I ain't quite right in the head tbf.

Causality1 5y ago
I try to keep the ruined stuff around long enough to use for an oil rag or barrel cleaning patch. After this article I may put a little more effort into doing that.

apercu 5y ago

Retail therapy. More people than ever are disconnected and deeply unhappy and advertising increases the social pressure by telling people they will be happier if they buy "this" or "that".

vidarh 5y ago

In high school at one point when discussing the amount of agricultural space goes to cotton, the teacher asked how many pairs of trousers we each had. I had two. I hated going shopping, and two was enough for me to wear one pair while the others were in the wash. A bit on the low end, maybe. I have a few more now, but still mostly cycle 2-3. Several of my class mates claimed to have 40+. I couldn't even imagine that. More than a dozen was the norm. Totally baffling to me as well. It just feels like added stress.

II2II 5y ago
This is true of young children as well. They will notice if someone (another child or adult) cycles through a small set of clothes and comment on it, which can easily be construed as peer pressure.
- vidarh 5y ago
  With young kids though, a lot of the time it's down to the parents. I know most of my son's clothes are a result of his mum wanting to buy him things. Only a tiny proportion are things he wanted.
ghaff 5y ago
If you count all the specialized trousers (a lot of which aren't cotton) for various types of activities, the number in my house definitely gets up there even if I discount things like sweatpants and old trousers I use as work pants. Most of my unnecessary bulk though is logoware from tradeshows and the like which I don't go out of my way to accumulate but still adds up over time as I (normally) do a lot of that type of thing.
- vidarh 5y ago
  Specialized clothes if you engage in activities that'd benefit from it, I can understand. But for most in my class these were all jeans, only differentiated in appearance, if that.

nsxwolf 5y ago

I don't own very many clothes at all. I don't understand fashion and I find it frustrating to find things that fit and are comfortable, so I keep the rare things I find acceptable around for a long time. But let's get something straight: I rarely look good.

Causality1 5y ago
I just settled on a uniform I was happy with: jeans and a plaid button-down every day. No mismatching and no decisions.

kipchak 5y ago

From the article, "A major survey in the UK six years ago found one in three young women considered garments “old” if they had been worn just twice." I'm like you, but I think there's a pretty big disconnect between us and the average person into fashion.

VLM 5y ago
You can manipulate surveys to generate any requested outrage. Generally you can assume any mention of a survey is propaganda and can be ignored. Its pretty trivial to imagine how this desired result was produced: "Would you be angry if you paid a falsely advertised full 'new' price for a garment actually worn by others at least three or more times?" I know I'd be pretty annoyed if I paid full "new" price for shoes and they arrived and someone else has been wearing the tread off of them for the last six months, LOL.