What Happened to Buy New Clothes?
My friend pulled up to the park wearing some Balenciaga the other day, and I’ll be honest, it really got me wondering. Mind you, I wasn’t wondering why it looked five sizes too big on him. Much of modern fashion, especially designer fashion, is shifting in interesting ways; I knew that already. Instead, I was wondering why on god’s green Earth anybody would buy a single pair of pants for the price of a used car.
Those pants cost 2,500 dollars.
It’s not just designer brands, either. A North Face jacket for 300, Nike Forces for 130, Lulu Lemon leggings for over 100 dollars. I'll be blunt, it’s ridiculous. I had no idea just how bad it’d gotten; that is, until I’d taken a brief venture out of my usual clothes shopping home, thrifting.
When I take 50 bucks to the Goodwill in La Mesa, I leave with enough clothes for 3-4 outfits, easily. I’ll probably leave with enough money left over to grab food, too. It’s magic. And they’re not bad clothes, either. If you're persistent, you can find some amazing pieces. Just the other week, I found an original Metallica long sleeve shirt for $4, and this is exactly the point.
It was either I put a couple bucks down for that super cool shirt, or I put it on a 6% down payment on a single Nike tee. Or a 2% down payment on a Vlone tee. Or a 0.4% down payment on a Balenciaga tee. And before you question to use of the term down payment here – ever heard of ‘buy now, pay later’? Yeah. People are out here Klarna financing CLOTHES. It’s absurd, but more importantly, shockingly wasteful.
6% turned out to be a great analogy, because 6% of all physical landfill waste in the US is made up of textiles. Much of it is clothing in perfectly good condition, just to be replaced with whatever the latest and greatest trend from an industry built to keep you spending. On top of that, clothes are being made in a cheaper way than ever. More inhumanely than ever, and with planned obsolescence in front of mind.
Phew, let’s take a step back, this is quickly turning into a rant.
If I’m being honest, this piece started out as a completely different idea. I wanted to compare what you’d get with 50 dollars buying second hand versus buying new; but there is no comparison. There is only a strange reality. A web of rampant consumerism engineered clothing trends, geopolitics, and industry.
The world is as it is, and as much as I would like to stop the meat grinder that is the clothing industry, I can feel pretty powerless. The good news? Thrifting is still a thing. And chances are, you’ll end up dressing less like everybody else, and a lot more like you. Even the act of thrifting can become an expression of your unique identity.
So do your style a favor and go to a flea market once in a while. And for the love of god, stop paying two bands for jeans, this is getting absurd.
Written by: Ryan Mendez
Graphics by: Arianna Martinez
