The Wanderer
Autumn/Winter 2012
"Name or body: which is closer?
Body or possessions: which means more?
Gain or loss: which one hurts?
Extreme love exacts a great price.
Many possessions entail heavy loss.
Know what is enough--
Abuse nothing.
Know when to stop--
Harm nothing.
This is how to last a long time."
Tao Te Ching
Chapter 44
Chapter 44
(translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo)
In 2011 each American (including every man, woman and child in that country) spent, on average, $910 on more than 62 garments. This is according to a recent report by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (read here). Let that sink in for a while...over a garment a week with a price of just under $15 per garment. On average. Now consider that the very same report states that these figures show that sales have increased, but that consumption was down, meaning that consumers are apparently spending more but buying less. Buying less is apparently buying more than a garment a week, and spending more is apparently spending under $15 on each garment. I do wonder what the figures were like before. Even taking into account the fact that this is an average, the numbers are for me absolutely staggering.
Too many garments, too cheaply made, too cheaply sold. It raises a plethora of concerns - economical, ecological, ethical, the list goes on. Our cycles of consumption have become akin to a line of pigs gorging themselves at the trough. Fast food, fast fashion, fast technology, fast hellos, faster goodbyes. What was meant to provide convenience, an option when in a pinch, has become the norm. Things pass by in a blur. It is however admittedly difficult to blame the majority of consumers for this behaviour. After all, we have been sold the idea since we were young that this is good for us, good for society, good for everyone. However I would like to think that individuals can make a stand, and in doing so, change things for the better. As Tolstoy wrote, people think of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.
Too many garments, too cheaply made, too cheaply sold. It raises a plethora of concerns - economical, ecological, ethical, the list goes on. Our cycles of consumption have become akin to a line of pigs gorging themselves at the trough. Fast food, fast fashion, fast technology, fast hellos, faster goodbyes. What was meant to provide convenience, an option when in a pinch, has become the norm. Things pass by in a blur. It is however admittedly difficult to blame the majority of consumers for this behaviour. After all, we have been sold the idea since we were young that this is good for us, good for society, good for everyone. However I would like to think that individuals can make a stand, and in doing so, change things for the better. As Tolstoy wrote, people think of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.
Emotion meets consumerism. It is for me a scary combination. Emotion meeting material object is one of the wonders of life, whether it be a young chimpanzee using a stick as a doll to play with and look after, or a scarf that reminds you of a recently deceased relative. But what happens when that emotion is played upon for the purposes of selling an object, of making the act of consumption more important and sought after than the end object itself? We enter a situation where we buy only in order to be disappointed, to be unfulfilled, to be already looking for the next potential purchase before we have paid for the present one. In reality it applies to most of the things we are sold, just as much as it applies to clothing. A world created upon the basis of planned obsolescence. We enter a situation where we feel the need to replace something without really understanding why. I don't need it, I just want it. But the current model needs to change. Where better to start than with our own actions?
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