We Are All Accumulating Mountains of Things - and then throw it away

[Exterous]

Interesting article about how we are buying more 'stuff' than ever before - significantly more than even a few years ago.

In 2017, Americans spent $240 billion—twice as much as they’d spent in 2002—on goods like jewelry, watches, books, luggage, and telephones and related communication equipment*, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which adjusted those numbers for inflation. Over that time, the population grew just 13 percent. Spending on personal care products also doubled over that time period. Americans spent, on average, $971.87 on clothes last year, buying nearly 66 garments, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association. That’s 20 percent more money than they spent in 2000. The average American bought 7.4 pairs of shoes last year, up from 6.6 pairs in 2000.

*I wasn't able to find out if that included cell phones or not.

Of course we also need space for all the crap we're buying:

At the same time we are amassing all this stuff, Americans are taking up more space. Last year, the average size of a single-family house in America was 2,426 square feet, a 23 percent increase in size from two decades ago, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The number of self-storage units is rapidly increasing, too: There are around 52,000 such facilities nationally; two decades ago, there were half that number.

And the more we buy the more we throw away

In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, Americans put 16 million tons of textiles in the municipal waste stream, a 68 percent increase from 2000. We tossed 34.5 million tons of plastics, a 35 percent increase from 2000

The 16,000 students who live in dorms at Michigan State University left behind 147,946 pounds of goods like clothing, towels, and appliances when they moved out this year, a 40 percent increase from 2016, according to Kat Cooper, a spokeswoman.

Those increases shocked me

https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...ine-shopping-and-accumulation-of-junk/567985/

It seems many people needed the barrier of physically go to the store to buy something to constrain their spending habits

 

[13Gigatons]

Americans are just such wasteful people....it should almost be a crime.

 

[K1052]

Americans are just such wasteful people....it should almost be a crime.

Hard to disagree anymore.

 

[IronWing]

One reason textile waste is increasing is that clothing is so poorly made these days that it wears out a lot faster. So much deconstructed garbage on the market that falls apart within a year or two.

 

[skull]

I think it has more to do with this.

The 16,000 students who live in dorms at Michigan State University left behind 147,946 pounds of goods like clothing, towels, and appliances when they moved out this year, a 40 percent increase from 2016, according to Kat Cooper, a spokeswoman.

I see people leave behind stuff in rentals all the time. Piles of clothes, furniture, even electronics and tvs.

People these days seem to think everything has to be new all the time. When I was a kid growing up in the 90s it seemed like most people kept stuff around until it broke, the kitchens/bathrooms hadn't been touched in 30 years. Now it seems like everythings always the latest and greatest, people have to remodel constantly because their 15 year old kitchen is so outdated etc.https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1027040

 

[skull]

One reason textile waste is increasing is that clothing is so poorly made these days that it wears out a lot faster. So much deconstructed garbage on the market that falls apart within a year or two.

I don't buy that I've seen the piles of clothes left behind in rentals most are barely worn quite a few still have tags on them. Hell I just seen my neighbors wife whos moving throw away a whole laundry basket full of really nice button down shirts because she hasn't seen the husband wear them in a year. Jesus atleast donate them hell I would've taken them if she hadn't thrown them straight into a trashcan when it was raining.

I'm really bringing the average down considering I go through one pair of boots about every 2 years and spend maybe $200/year on clothes.

 

[cytg111]

Americans are just such wasteful people....it should almost be a crime.

Hard to disagree anymore.

I disagree. If you think about it in terms of that which is governed by all things progressive, natural selection, it was always going to be a race to the top, and looking back to time = 0 and forward to now it is really really obvious that the arrow of time, the transition of entropy, how the universe is choosing to spend its energy, is never taking a straight line... There be waste! What is mind boggling to me though, being the tip of the spear, the west now seems content on squandering that position away. THAT I do not understand. Unite the globe, manage our resources.
That or perish.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Americans are just such wasteful people....it should almost be a crime.

It is happiness. Look at the people in ads. Every single one is happy and this is the basis for most of the first world economy, the acquisition of stuff.

 

[Exterous]

One reason textile waste is increasing is that clothing is so poorly made these days that it wears out a lot faster. So much deconstructed garbage on the market that falls apart within a year or two.

I'm sure that has some effect but I'm not sure how much of one or if its as high of one as it needs to be. I have a fair amount of clothes that has lasted for a couple of years despite frequent use. Granted there is plenty of crap out there to buy but its also very easy to find good quality items that will last a while and don't break the bank.

I see people leave behind stuff in rentals all the time. Piles of clothes, furniture, even electronics and tvs.

The college part really resonated with me. The going 'joke' is that you can furnish an apartment for basically free with a U-Haul on Move Out week at a college campus. I'm inevitably at one or more college campuses a year for Move Out week and the trashbins are overflowing with crap and small appliances and furniture are by the curbside in abundance. I knew it was bad but those numbers at MSU are crazy

I'm really bringing the average down considering I go through one pair of boots about every 2 years and spend maybe $200/year on clothes.

Yeah - I bought a single pair of shoes this year and might buy another. That's even with a fair amount of running for fitness and weeks of 10+ mile walks. We also fill maybe a trashbag a week - which would get down farther if the area didn't take such a dim view of compositing. Meanwhile neighbors are putting 2-3 overflowing bins out a week. Some of that is because its only 2 of us compared to 4 for most of the rest of the subdivision but still

 

[mizzou]

I’ve tried to be less wasteful and go with quality over quantity...but I’ll be honest it’s real hard to go with snap-on over harbor freight. :-\ I do try to get the most llegs out of the stuff I buy but some things it’s unavoidable because that’s where the market is. Cheap Chinese disposables.

If good shirts can be had at $5 it’s hard to not see people accumulating mountains and disregarding them like scrap

 

[1prophet]

Gee wiz, how did that ever happen?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self

The words of Paul Mazur, a leading Wall Street banker working for Lehman Brothers in 1927, are cited: "We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. [...] Man's desires must overshadow his needs."

Question is what happens when the rest of the world refuses to take our garbage.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/04/20/news/economy/china-new-recycling-ban/index.html

China just threw another curveball at the global recycling industry.
The Chinese government says it's extending last year's ban on imports of items such as unsorted paper and some plastics to dozens more types of recyclable materials, including steel waste, used auto parts and old ships.

For decades, other countries shipped containers full of scrap and waste to China for recycling. But Beijing stunned the recycling industry last year with its ban on imports of 24 varieties of solid waste.

Now, it's adding 32 more types to the list -- half of them at the end of this year, and the other half at the end of 2019.

The developed world has been getting away with a relatively cheap and easy lifestyle on the backs of third world laborers and the abuse to their health and environments for decades, now the price of cheap throwaway shit is going to spill out to the developed world like a backed up toilet,

and it is going to be far more expensive than the domestic environmental, safety, and labor costs avoided for the lifestyle they enjoyed in their profit only matters, cheapest is best race to the bottom religion in order to support the 1% who brainwashed them into being good little free trade loving consumers.

 

[Indus]

It is happiness. Look at the people in ads. Every single one is happy and this is the basis for most of the first world economy, the acquisition of stuff.

It's funny I was living in Singapore in just a room with 1 closet for 8 years and I only had 6 work shirts, 10 casual shirts, pants, jeans, 2 pairs of shoes, my laptop, my phone and my dslr and lenses.

Everything could fit in 2 suitcases and my camera bag. It's amazing how little you can survive on if you try.. I didn't even have a TV in the room.. just googled, youtubed everything.

The only thing I could not bring back with me to the US was 2 things I purchased to make things a little easier on myself.. a fan and a microwave.

Ofcourse now that I'm stateside I bought a 50 inch tv.. built a ryzen desktop.. monitor.. comfy chair, car blah blah blah.

 

[umbrella39]

Americans are just such wasteful people....it should almost be a crime.

I was just as guilty up until appx 2012. We kept getting a new phone every year, bigger and bigger TVs, a Blu Ray collection nearing 1000, 2 year car leases, etc...

Learned my lesson and had a lot of debt to pay off... Just made the last $20 installment payment on the still works like a champ S6 Edge from '16... It's a great feeling to allow yourself to wait for your shit to actually break before feeling inclined to upgrade to something newer and bigger...

 

[Commodus]

I was recently talking to a financial planner and could tell she was surprised that my monthly clothing budget was so relatively low. I think people just assume you're 'supposed' to buy new apparel all the time. Er, no! If it looks good, fits well and doesn't have any holes, why would I buy something new? And of course, that extends to other areas: new gadgets, new furniture...

Hell, I'm a techie (as you might have guessed by being here), but I don't buy a new phone or PC every year, and I don't buy something just because I'm curious about it. I buy when I think I'll get a good upgrade or when I need it, whether that's two, five or ten years from now. We'd be better off as a society if we learned to pace ourselves.

 

[cytg111]

It's funny I was living in Singapore in just a room with 1 closet for 8 years and I only had 6 work shirts, 10 casual shirts, pants, jeans, 2 pairs of shoes, my laptop, my phone and my dslr and lenses.

Everything could fit in 2 suitcases and my camera bag. It's amazing how little you can survive on if you try.. I didn't even have a TV in the room.. just googled, youtubed everything.

The only thing I could not bring back with me to the US was 2 things I purchased to make things a little easier on myself.. a fan and a microwave.

Ofcourse now that I'm stateside I bought a 50 inch tv.. built a ryzen desktop.. monitor.. comfy chair, car blah blah blah.

Dribling around the different possibilties in the national guard I found that I was quite content with what would fit in my backpack alot of nature and not much of anything else but good company.. I make ok good money but drive a small car cheap bike and bought a cheap house(due to location, urban).. All those fancy things dont make you happy and if I were to find a nice girl I know it aint cause she saw my wallet first..

 

[Jhhnn]

I’ve tried to be less wasteful and go with quality over quantity...but I’ll be honest it’s real hard to go with snap-on over harbor freight. :-\ I do try to get the most llegs out of the stuff I buy but some things it’s unavoidable because that’s where the market is. Cheap Chinese disposables.

If good shirts can be had at $5 it’s hard to not see people accumulating mountains and disregarding them like scrap

Snap-on only makes sense for professionals. Even then it's not so much about quality but rather service & warranty. The dealer comes to you & he'll offer zero interest credit on a lot of purchases. If it breaks he'll replace it for free, on the spot, if he has it. Snap-on & their competitors also carry specialty tools generally unavailable elsewhere. Craigslist & Ebay have also increased the availability of used tools. Being the Snap-on guy doesn't pay nearly as well as it once did.

 

[vi edit]

Lol. I still have dress pants from 2005 I regularly wear. But yes, we have totally gone to a throw away society. Our corporate overlords have convinced us and in many ways forced us into an replace vs repair culture.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Meh, I know I waste some items from time to time, but most certainly not like in the OP. I blow through shoes the most. Other than that it's computer junk I accumulate and discard, most of it isn't mine either.

 

[imported_tajmahal]

All the clothes and shoes my depression era grandparents owned easily fit into a 3 foot wide closet and a small 3 drawer dresser. Neat and tidy and nothing wasted. Shoes were shined and then repaired, new shoelaces installed when old ones wore out. Most the plants and trees in their yard produced something edible and every year they spent time canning and preserving jams, jellies and pickling veggies. Dishes washed in a tub and then the water used in the garden. They never owned a car, they walked everywhere they had to go. Frugal was a way of life.

 

[alien42]

Happy to know this doesn't apply to all Americans. I wear clothes until they literally fall apart and never have bought shit for no reason.

 

[Josephus312]

Happy to know this doesn't apply to all Americans. I wear clothes until they literally fall apart and never have bought shit for no reason.

I buy things for my kids for no reason but I'm a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy and my suits are used only when needed. T-shirts and jeans are a dime a dozen and if I ever splurge on anything it's on gym clothes. I hate working out without the right kind of shoes and those will cost me $800 every five years but so be it.

 

[woolfe9998]

Funny to listen to a bunch of guys talk about how little clothes they have. Women spend 75% more on clothes, some of that because their clothes tend to be more expensive, and some because they just buy more of it. I have five pairs of shoes. My wife has about 80.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/average-cost-clothing-per-month.html

 

[Josephus312]

Funny to listen to a bunch of guys talk about how little clothes they have. Women spend 75% more on clothes, some of that because their clothes tend to be more expensive, and some because they just buy more of it. I have five pairs of shoes. My wife has about 80.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/average-cost-clothing-per-month.html

I've just let my daughter use my Visa to go buy shoes, told her to get whatever she wanted and thought that she'd get one nice pair of shoes. $2000 later I'm regretting not being more specific.

My wife buys her own shoes so I can't really complain about that but yeah, it's about 80 current pairs.

I have boots for the winter, shoes for the fall, sneakers, formal dress shoes and informal dress shoes and then there's my gym shoes that are more expensive than any pair she owns and she let's me know that every time she buys an expensive pair of shoes.

Those are absolutely needed though, I see people with their ankles twitching on light deadlifts using their new Nike shoes that are about as good as a pair of high heels in the gym. Mine are leather insoles and pure rubber, completely flat on the inside and the outside with a great big sole that makes them shoes you'd never wear outside of the gym because they look ridiculous.

 

[Indus]

I have to say one thing.. I just wasted some money this year.. bought myself a new monitor for one reason.. my other monitor started hurting my eyes. Otherwise it worked fine.

 

[Indus]

I've just let my daughter use my Visa to go buy shoes, told her to get whatever she wanted and thought that she'd get one nice pair of shoes. $2000 later I'm regretting not being more specific.

My wife buys her own shoes so I can't really complain about that.

WTF? $2000? Even Louboutins aren't that expensive!