LIP: "The True Price of Cheap Clothes"

[315bride]

The True Price of Cheap Clothes

Discuss.

[joanis018]

I saw that- interesting... I have been making an effort recently to only buy stuff I love, not just buy it because it's on sale. Pretty crazy to see that me buying crap and then donating it can actually hurt other economies.

[futurepivko]

Interesting...true as wel.

[NachoProblem]

TBH, I was thinking the article was going to be about sweatshop labor based on the title. I definitely think Americans in general treat clothes like they're disposable. I give hand me downs to my college age cousins first, then I take the rest to salvation army. I've been trying to buy less and I usually keep my old T shirts to wash the car with and dust around the house. I'm not super keen about shopping at second hand stores for clothes, however, most of our furniture came from a used furniture consignment store.

[mrssavy42112]

I saw that also. I've been trying to make an earnest effort to save my money & buy a few higher quality pieces rather than lots of cheaper pieces. Threads like yesterday's about Sam Moon & such certainly doesn't help. It's so easy to go for the cheap. But in the long run you do spend more money when you go cheap. The quality just isn't there.

[315bride]

I've definitely been thinking about "slow fashion" as a good movement (buying fewer, but high quality items), but this really made me understand a real impact of disposable fashion. Eye-opening.

[hz80408]

It's interesting, but I don't think the title is truly applicable to just cheap clothing; wouldn't this be truth for any clothing that's donated? I suppose they say cheap because that's more likely to have a shorter closet life and be donated sooner?

[FormerCityGirl]

I've actually started upcycling some of my favorite things and making them more wearable. DH and I try to buy quality as much as possible. It's not always easy since I lost a lot of weight in a shortish amount of time. I'll pick up a cheap accessory here or there, but I stick to better bags and shoes for the most part. If I go low-end on the clothes, I'll go higher on the accessories unless there's a piece I love that I could see myself wearing a lot and reworking in the future.

[ssmjlm]

I have definitely been trying to do this. Buy pieces that are quality and will last.

[stumpy]

When I was losing weight, I bought as cheap as stuff as possible b/c I knew I would only be in that size for a certain amount of time. But even then, my cheap stuff wasn't too cheap . . . so somebody else could wear it after I was finished. (I ended up giving away a TON of stuff to co-workers and they loved everything. And it was pretty basic stuff like jeans, sweaters, v-neck t's, etc.)
Now that I have kept the weight off, I have bought a lot of clothes that are much more expensive and aren't as "disposable" . . . but I still try to get things when they are on sale.

[pixy0stix]

I thought of this in the jewelry thread. :/

[amandasw]

I've always enjoyed shopping at places like Goodwill or consignment shops.

[Deleted]

I also buy clothing for the long term. It's kind of become a game to me to see how much mileage I can get out of an item of clothing before it falls apart.

[ESquared423]

Very interesting. I cringe whenever I walk past those obscenely cheap clothing stores, Forever 21 is borderline cringeworthy for me, but those random cheap stores in the mall with the 5 for $5 tees and polyester everything..you know what I'm talking about.

I have the weirdest anxiety about the state of the world's environment, thinking about landfills overflowing and just running out of room for everything, it makes me super anxious. Most people can put the garbage out every week and be done with it, I fret about the number of garbage bags I see on the curb in my neighborhood and then I get to thinking about the garbage of the whole city, state, country, world, etc., etc., etc. It's like seriously obnoxious but I think about these things A LOT. And this article didn't help! But hopefully it will make some people stop and think before buying something just because it's cheap or on sale or whatever.

[vampsterdam]

Hmm a lot of interesting things brought up in this thread.

I will say that in this economy though, it is hard to hate on stores that sell cheap clothes. I'm not talking about someone who shops at Forever 21 for fun. There are people who really do go into a store at the mall and buy $5 shirts because there's not much more they can buy.

I used to go through clothes ALL the time in HS/begining of college. I gave a lot of donations then.

Now I save and give most to my family in Europe. However, like others mentioned, I'm no longer an impulse buyer. I hold on to clothes for years.

[315bride]

I love the feedback that this has received. In the old days on F&B, this would have been a breeding ground for a lot of hate.

[fashionx]

This was interesting. I was expecting to read about the fabric scrap waste from the actual clothing factories -- that's a big problem too, although they can recycle scraps to make rugs and other things (not that it always happens). I have also read about how Tom's shoes being given to poor countries can upset the local economy, because why would someone buy, with the little money they do have, shoes from a local tradesman when they get them for free. And since many of those people only have 1 pair of shoes, and Tom's doesn't offer really any support, they could benefit not only from supporting their economy but also supporting their feet! Also besides the donated clothing from consumers, stores also get rid of their unsold goods by sending them away, which compounds the problem.

I had no idea how many clothes were really carted off to other countries, I realize it happens, but not quite the extent of the problem. I do take care of my clothes and make them last, even when I do buy cheaper "fast fashion" items. But I agree with Vamp, who mentioned Forever 21 and the like, it is crazy to see jeans for $7, especially when I work in the apparel industry and I know what goes into the manufacturing process, and how much it costs to produce here. It boggles my mind that something can be made that cheaply, even in other countries.

[mrssavy42112]

Donated clothes being sold overseas doesn’t surprise me at all. About once a year I pack up a garbage bag of clothes & give it to my friend’s mom who visits yearly from Ecuador. She is able to make a living there by selling used clothes she gets here. Having clothes from an “American” brand greatly increases the value there. The same brand new jeans cost $40 here and $80 there. Part is the shipping/import costs, but part is the markup for the commodity. So she makes a decent living selling used “American” clothes because it’s significantly cheaper than buying it at the store. I say American in quotes because any brand that we wear here is considered American to them, regardless of where it’s made.

[315bride]

Jun 29, 2012 8:11:20 GMT -5 mrssavy42112 said:

Donated clothes being sold overseas doesn’t surprise me at all. About once a year I pack up a garbage bag of clothes & give it to my friend’s mom who visits yearly from Ecuador. She is able to make a living there by selling used clothes she gets here. Having clothes from an “American” brand greatly increases the value there. The same brand new jeans cost $40 here and $80 there. Part is the shipping/import costs, but part is the markup for the commodity. So she makes a decent living selling used “American” clothes because it’s significantly cheaper than buying it at the store. I say American in quotes because any brand that we wear here is considered American to them, regardless of where it’s made.

I am always surprised when I ask my European relatives what they want me to bring, they always ask for things like Levi's. It definitely is harder to find there and the American brands are very popular.