Why It’s Better to Buy Expensive Clothes
When I was a teen-something and even an early twenty-something all I ever wanted to do was shop. I loved the way clothes looked on me, the way they felt on me, and the way they made me feel. A new outfit was like a new me. Fashion gave me the opportunity to express and reinvent myself.
One summer I got a job at Victoria’s Secret. We watched this video about the now old man who created the company. The male CEO was talking about how Victoria was to be this beautiful woman who is always wearing fancy lingerie. I was listening to this old man’s fantasy, one that he turned into a billion-dollar company. Later, my boss at Victoria’s Secret was cutting up the bras and lingerie that were returned. “What are you doing?” I asked her. “We cut the bras up so they can’t be resold or used, it tarnishes the brand otherwise.” Here was perfectly good clothing that had been returned. Clothing that could have gone to a homeless women’s shelter. Just one small example of corporate waste. It was then that I began to look into the ethics of cheap clothing. I came to the conclusion that for ethics, cost, environmental reasons, and quality it was important to stop buying cheap clothing.
