“The average American buys more than one new piece of clothing per week. If that matches your shopping habits, in a span of five years you have purchased more than 320 pieces of clothing.”
Who the fuck is buying multiple pieces of clothing every week? I don’t know anyone that does that. I feel like buys-ridiculous-amounts-of-clothing George is an outlier and shouldn’t be counted.
This article is so entitled
Judging by the amount of clothes at second hand stores in the US, its mostly middle class women
I have a shopaholic aunt who is said to wear things she buys once on avg. She could open her own 2nd hand shop (or if she moved her stock to Europe she could open ~6 2nd-hand shops). Many women in my family are inflicted with this disease to varying degrees. It’s a gender-specific disease that I think men are immune to.
Back of the envelope, to keepy work uniform crispy, every six months or so I need to obtain:
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two work shirts
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two undershirts
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two pairs pants
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a five-pack of boxers
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a pair of shoes
That's twelve, times two to get the yearly average. I also get a six-pack of socks every other year or so, call that twenty-seven per year, plus one or two purchased for me as gifts (gloves, sweatshirts, hats, ties), call it thirty.
There's fifty-four weeks in a year. Either the author is out-of-touch or I'm already following their advice, IDK. I just found brands that are comfortable and wear them until they're discontinued. Personally, I wish I was buying clothes less often; I hate that I go through work shirts and pants so fast, in particular.
Edit: bad arithmetic originally. Revised estimate is more in line with author's projection but still significantly lower.
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Well, if you average it, maybe. I tend to get clothes en masse -- I don't get one pair of socks. They do say "average".
I think I've bought 2 pieces this year.
Here's the thing about "signaling to the industry with your money": They will take it and not give you shit.
Pay 30$ or $300 for a drill it's still made in China from plastic and planned obsolescence.
Underwear is no different.
Voting with your money works. But only when there are good options to vote for.
There are a couple BifL sock makers, but no BifL underwear makers. That’s the problem. If someone made loose-fitting stretchy aramid boxers with a drawstring that lasts 1+ lifetimes, people would pay $100/ea for them.
Pay cheap and you get cheap. Pay more and sometimes you get fat better quality. Unfortunately, you can also get cheap with a larger mark-up.
I dunno, Makita and some Milwaukee tools are absolutely worth the money, especially if you're willing to buy into their battery ecosystem.
With both those brands, buy brushless. I've lost count of the times I've had to change brushes on both brands of drill. At least Makita makes it easy to change them and you don't have to split the whole drill to do it.
On the other hand, I've never changed brushes on my 25 year old Ryobi, and it's put in a hundred times as many screws as the other two put together.
You've never bought a $30 drill, have you?
I use my Makita drill a significant amount. Right now I'm using it instead of a hand crank on my case trimmer (for reloading ammunition; I'm a moderate volume shooter). I've had it for nearly a decade. Yeah, I've replaced the batteries twice, and now have the higher capacity ones. But the drill is still holding up. The Festool Rotex disc sander I've got is easily the best sander that I've used.
I like this idea of thinking about purchases in terms of per-use cost - this means you should spend more on mattresses and bed linen, underwear, office chairs and computer peripherals, etc.
I'm also a fan of working out how much a price-tag is in terms of how long you need to work to get the equivalent cash. Would I be willing to work for an extra two hours to get this thing?
The official term for this is COPS (cost per service) and it helps you greatly in making smart economic decisions. I calculated this for many household products about a decade ago and came to the conclusion that for many products it's barely worth worrying about the cost while for others there's hidden cost that should really warrant closer inspection. For instance dish soap has such low COPS that it almost doesn't matter which brand you buy. Electric gadgets like fridges, washing machines or printers definitely warrant deliberation though because in the long run energy, refill, maintenance and repair costs will approach if not outstrip the initial purchase cost.
And yeah, spending a big chunk on a good bed or chair hurts initially but you will spend literally thousands of hours in them. Something like a greeting card or fireworks on the other hand are cheaper in the moment but only yield limited utility in comparison.
Thank you for the term - I thought it was something like amortised cost but when I looked that up it describes something completely different.
Sure just don't allow it to justify over spending.
The idea that one "should spend more" is not the correct way to think of what is actually an ROI decision, return on investment.
Eh, that suggests rich people can do more harm. I think about thr people who made it and where it will go after it breaks.
Can I justify the exploitation of the worker and the land by this purchase?
Usually I just buy used to avoid that externality, if possible.
Patagonia boxers are made using recycled plastics and they also accept worn out boxers for recycling. Patagonia is the only boxers I have found that are very loose fitting (baggy in fact), silky feeling, yet stretchy, yet moisture-wicking all at once. Nothing like this seems to exist in Europe.
So here’s a debate: synthetic vs cotton
Synthetic boxers can be recycled and can be made from recycled plastics. But every time synthetic clothes get washed they shed microplastics which most sewage treatment centers cannot filter out. You would have to buy a special filter to attach to your washing machine. Researchers in Ghent discovered that the bacteria that loves perspiration also loves synthetic clothes but not cotton. This is why synthetic clothes get stinky fast and thus need more frequent washing than natural fibers.
Cotton production consumes absurd amounts of water (2700 liters of water to produce 1 t-shirt). And when you wash it, hang drying takes /days/ (whereas microfibers hang dry in a couple hours). So people use energy wasting tumble dryers when cleaning cotton. But cotton has the advantage of being biodegradable. You can simply compost/landfill finished cotton as long as it doesn’t have harmful dyes that leech out. There is also a cotton t-shirt that is claimed to wearable 7 times before each wash. IIRC it’s blended with silver for anti-microbial effects.
The environmental debate can go either way depending on which problem you want to focus on, but cotton is clearly lousy performing underwear considering how it retains water and gets soggy. The only natural fiber that performs well for underwear is wool (ideally Marino from what I’ve read). But the prices on that are extortionate. €60+ for one pair of wool boxers, and they’re tight fitting.
Anyway, the OP’s thesis is lost. There is no BifL boxers AFAIK.
There are BifL socks though, called “Darn Tough” which have a lifetime warranty. They have 1 competitor but I forgot the brand. Both use marino wool.
update
Patagonia plans to open a store in Amsterdam.
The answer is nearly always Natural Fibres for two reasons:
- environmental - synthetic products do not degrade. Why wear something that literally microplastics everywhere you go and then gets thrown in a landfill at end of its use.
- comfort - breathability is the key criteria for clothing. Polyester and synthetic fabrics are nearly all terrible at this compared to natural fibres.
Merino wool is one of the best products, especially for warmth. You don't have to pay Ice Breaker money, although it is becoming harder to find at affordable prices.
Linen is also a great fabric for warmer climates. Couldn't imagine a polyester t-shirt, let alone underwear, if I lived somewhere hot.
breathability is the key criteria for clothing. Polyester and synthetic fabrics are nearly all terrible at this compared to natural fibres.
Natural fibers cannot be grouped together in this way because there is a huge variation.
This is where cotton fails and synthetic microfibers come out ahead. Cotton retains water, swells when wet, and suffocates as water tension spans the threads that are thickened by the swelling. Synthetic microfibers wick moisture away, and do not swell when wet, which gives excellent breathability. Cotton is fine as long as you don’t sweat. Or exceptionally, if it’s extremely hot in some windy situations the water retention can be a plus. I used to don cotton and hose myself down before getting on a motorcycle on a hot dry day. The evaporative cooling effect worked wonders with the high relative wind. But outside of that niche, such as sports, microfibers are king which is why sporting goods shops fetch high prices for high tech synthetics. As someone who sweats profusely more than normal, cotton is a non-starter in warm climates. Evaporation from soggy cotton simply cannot keep up with the rate that I add sweat. So a cotton t-shirt gets soaked in sweat and remains wet the whole workout session, and for days thereafter.
I used to wear tighty whities which made my gear sweat. Switched to Pategonia boxers and wow what a difference in breathability.
Wool and synthetics are similar w.r.t. comfort hence the term “smart wool”. But indeed natural wool is pricey and non-vegan.
They have 1 competitor but I forgot the brand.
Is it bombas ?
Doesn’t sound familiar, but maybe there is more than two.
(edit) just had a brief look at bombas. They seem like a great product but I didn’t see notice of a lifetime warranty.
Bombas are just regular cotton/synthetic socks (though nice ones as far as I can tell).
There are BifL socks though, called “Darn Tough” which have a lifetime warranty. They have 1 competitor but I forgot the brand. Both use marino wool.
I don't really think socks can be a BIFL item. Darn tough is definitely one of my favorites, but I've worn through pairs. Merino is a weak fiber (which is what makes it soft), so it wears out. I've got some pairs where the nylon structure of the sock is intact, but the wool itself has been abraded away. Yes, I could swap them for new ones, but I don't want to exploit a company who is trying to do things right.
There's a few companies making good, made in America wool socks. Farm to Feet, Camel City mill, grip6, a decent part of smartwool's portfolio, and probably a few others.
I guess the whole point isn't actually things that last forever, it's things that reach the optimum of longevity, eco friendliness, and performance.
I guess the whole point isn’t actually things that last forever, it’s things that reach the optimum of longevity, eco friendliness, and performance.
BIFL in for this community can mean that literally, as in it will last your entire life, but also includes what you described. Fully agree!
And when you wash [cotton], hang drying takes /days/
Like, Venus days? Time lapse days?
Given hang-drying in my humid coastal community takes 4 hours on a bad day, make sure you share what you're smoking.
I have underwear that’s lasted over ten years.
Which brand?
Different brands. They’re boxers though. I’m guessing briefs wouldn’t last as long.
But I don't wear underpants... 😰
Kramer?
I’m out there Jerry, and I’m lllllllllovin’ every minute of it!
big Underwear is trying to get you to change your ways. Don't listen to them!
I wear clothes that are more than a decade old (aside from newer clothing that was a gift), I don't even buy clothes anymore. If something is torn or doesn't fit right, I sew it myself (although I'm not good at it), in fact sewing the waistband on underwear seems to be what I've had most luck with.
Then again I also almost never go out and have nothing resembling a social life so it doesn't really matter for me anyway, so I get most people probably would not want to do anything like this.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey I want to sew underwear too 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
Price is unfortunately not a reliable proxy for quality. That's kind of why communities like BuyItForLife exist.
Granted, the marketers are catching up to this and as such they are losing their usefulness, but yeah.
Soo.. What underwear are actually worth buying then? It doesn't seem like there are too many recommendations.
In a similar thread years ago there was a recommendation for Exofficio brand which I bought a few of to try out and have since replaced all of my underwear with. Their boxer briefs are fantastic.
I've gone with MeUndies after a sponsor spot in a YouTube video that was actually good. They do tons, like TONS of different designs. Pricey, but made extremely well. Plus, all of the packaging is recyclable.
They also have a subscription model that's literally just pairs for a discount monthly, and you can select a random design.
Been using me undies myself for just over 6 years. Theyre started to break down over the last year. One complaint i have is the purple lining they use for the elastic seems to leave a mark around my waist. I've been waring them inside out to accomidate.
I'll be trying some lttstore undies soon. Hopefully theyre similar quality but slightly longer lasting.
Personally, I've been a fan of saxx. Expensive, but I'll try and get a new pair if I see them for half off.
To be honest, for everyday wear, I've got cheap costco brand underwear that's lasted me probably 200 wears. I only use non-cotton underwear for athletic activities, though, so that cuts down on a lot of wear and tear.
I've heard good things about Duluth trading company, but never tried them.
Schiesser is outlasting every other brand I've tried so far
Broadly speaking, consumers should educate themselves about apparel, and then choose to buy apparel that's better made and will last longer. It's not just underwear. Jeans are a favorite example of mine. Most jeans right now are in the 9-10oz range, and have 1-4% spandex woven in so they stretch. 50 years ago, most jeans would have been in the 12-14oz range, no spandex. The would shrink in the wash, so you had to be careful, but would also slowly break in and mold to fit you. Jeans with spandex are more comfortable right off the bat, and can be made comfortable even if they're fairly tight, but as they wear, they're going to start sagging. And since they're a lighter weight material, they aren't going to last as long. The changes are, in large part, driven by the need to ensure that your jeans fit a wider range of body shapes; your fit doesn't need to be as specific when you use elastic. (That starts wading into the deep end of fitting apparel, but the short version is: patterns can be pretty easily graded to fit people that aren't overweight, but once you get past a certain amount of body fat, distribution and shapes start varying widely enough that you simply can't make anything that's close to universal without making it fit like a poncho.)
There was even a brief period of time where Invista had a partnership with a mill that was making denim, and they were doing 60/40, or 50/50 cotton/nylon denims, and they had fantastic wear capabilities. I haven't been able to find anything about that particular material in about 15 years, sadly. (Cotton/Kevlar blends are possible to find; those are used for motorcycle jeans. They're also $60/yard for 30" wide fabric, which is insane.)
So true, I went jeans shopping a couple of months ago and literally every pair of jeans was stretchy with bad durability
Not sure if I trust a lot of companies that make more expensive underwear to actually make something that lasts longer. I could put the research in to find something. But the markup between the cheapest things and the "quality" underwear always seems a bit much for me
I found Schiesser lasts pretty well
Schiesser
Cheers mate!
I buy nowhere near one piece of clothing per week
I've had the same underwear for about 10 years. The elastic eventually wears out and you have to sew them to become "fitted"
I quit using a dryer. Hang drying will help elastics last longer. Though it still breaks eventually.
When you repair them, are you sewing new elastic onto them? i thought about just threading a shoe lace since some boxers us that drawstring design anyway.
No, I just fold it over on top of itself in two places (left hip and right hip) and sew so they fit me perfectly
Who throws clothes in the trash? I almost never do that.
If it's OK and just doesn't fit I donate it. Some of them get cut up to be dust cloths. And when my underwear is literally falling apart I might throw it away. Maybe.
HUGE amounts of clothes are being trashed, many of them new; never worn. I wish I kept the link around. There were several articles in the past few years showing massive piles of clothes along the coastline of some poverty-stricken countries, with all the dyes leeching into the ocean. Fast fashion is the culprit.
Probably what disgusts me the most are political campaign t-shirts. Surely it’s the worst instance of obsolescence by design in clothing. Andrew Yang claimed to be an environmentalist yet his campaign t-shirts were made of non-sustainable cotton. Attempts to spotlight that were censored by Reddit.
If it’s OK and just doesn’t fit I donate it.
All the charities collecting clothes in my area are fussy. They want no flaws, and they want clothes to be cleaned. Apparently there is no infrastructure for repairing them or even simply washing them. Neighbors don’t bother.. they just stuff a trash bag with clothes and put it out with other trash. Sometimes someone notices that and tears open the bag and rifles through it for stuff. I’ve moved into places where the previous tenant just left clothes and blankets behind. I dumped them in the clothing donation bins anyway, without washing. But it’s dicey.. I could just be adding to their burden and have no idea if the clothes and blankets get used.
Even some underwear or old tshirts can be cut up and used to clean stuff like bike chains, dry car rims if you are washing the wheels, and clean gun barrels after shooting and oiling them. Cotton tends to work better.
Dunno. U wear for coverage, or for support? If the former, they can last decades. If the latter, prolly 2-4 years.
Avoid fabrics with elastics. Make sure they fit naturally, and they will support you for decades if its good material.
I like Mac Weldon boxer briefs due to their comfort, which makes them worth the extra bread to me. They do seem to last a long time, but as with any garment containing elastic, they probably won't last for life.
Can't comment on the Mac Weldon boxers. I've never tried them.
