Most shops are just landfill waiting to happen.

Let's hope

Can polyester be recycled?
Surely the material could be made into a different item of clothing.

Yes it sounds full on but could actually work. I would suggest if we do go down that path it’s better to have the capability to produce better items and not rely on China etc for the cheapest stuff.

Given the whole tariff furore I’m not sure people do want this when it comes down to pricing.

Maybe the US can do it in a way smaller countries would find more difficult.

Try going on eBay. 1 million dresses for sale (UK). 250,000 of these dresses are polyester. What is going to happen to all these dresses?

In some respects I don’t have a problem with a fully automated factory. The quality and usefulness of what factories produce is key. If you’ve ever worked in a factory, they can be noisy, dangerous workplaces, and some of the tasks can be mind numbingly repetitive. Humans are better and more safely deployed in creative and caring roles.

If the population are to move away from buying cheap tat and buy fewer, quality items that will last, how we transition as a society is important, as this kind of economy will be different. More of us will be employed in repair services, for example.

Sounds interesting - can you remember what the documentary was called or which channel it was on? Thanks 🙏🏼

it sort of sounds more like something people think happens more than something that really does

@MistressoftheDarkSide I know where you’re coming from with the collecting of peoples things that are no longer here. I have only ended up with a few practical things of my Dads but my Grandmother passed away earlier this year and I was struggling to let go of some of her things. I think it’s because it’s from a generation that’s dying out - there’s letters/telegrams my grandad sent to her during the war. I have managed to let go of a chunk of things and keep telling myself they aren’t my memories to hold on to.
I’m sorry for your loss of DP

Judging by the majority of positive responses on this thread, we aren’t doomed, thankfully. 😅

The cardboard was once trees - don’t know where they get it all from

Well I was thinking more along the lines of clothes I suppose. I think social media drives/encourages SOME people to buy stuff more because they are posing/ showing off.

That is extreme. Would people take higher prices to avoid relying on these?

I used to work in the shop at our local recycling centre. There was masses of really good stuff, all going very, very, cheap. There is no reason why people who don't have much money can't buy from places like that. I have very little new furniture in my flat, I bought second hand, good quality, stuff and have no intention of replacing it - and it won't need replacing in my lifetime.

There is also plenty of good stuff on FB marketplace, and we have a local FB page where people give goods away.

Garden centres really get to me - who buys all that needless crap? Tons and tons of it! They go on and on about the ‘cost of living crisis’ and I won’t really believe it until the coffee shops are empty (£4 for a cup of coffee!) and the garden centres aren’t full of what you rightly describe as landfill.

At my last job, when I put out seasonal stuff- most of it was the crap we talking about, made in China.

They have to use the thickest cardboard and a mile of sellotape (which has to be the strongest). Even for something ridiculously light - Halloween cookie cutters! Then some items had bits of cardboard in between each item.

We bailed the cardboard which was recycled into making more cardboard.

Oh god that is utterly depressing.

I had to drive behind a retail park at the weekend and the amount of packaging awaiting disposal was sickening. It was piles and piles of cardboard and plastic that had absolutely no use any more. This is in addition to the packing still on the items in stock, not to mention the items themselves including many which go unsold and will ultimately end up in a landfill.

I'd never heard of dark factories before thanks for highlighting.
That truly is the stuff of nightmares.

Watched a documentary on Chinese dark factories - utterly depressing. Basically they justify them by saying they lack labour - pah. They’re fully AI automated factories with no human workers so no need to even put the lights on. Producing cheap plastic clothes and crap 24 hours a day. Obviously environmentally damaging. Fashion and a desire for the latest technology/ toys etc is killling us all!

yes yes yes!!!! i buy almost nothing other than food these days because we just don’t NEED anything else. i really think twice/thrice or more before buying anything else and very usually convince myself out of it because it just makes me so sad having so much shit everywhere (i don’t just mean in the house but the world in general). i realise im in the minority thought but we should all try and do our bit. from little acorns big oak trees grow is my thought…

Well, over here in USA where I am, the charity shops are more than happy to receive anything brought to them. What country are you in? I guess that some things that are donated are routed to landfill but if so, donators are unaware of it.

I volunteer in a charity shop and there are lots of rules about what we can and can't take. Legally we can't sell weapons, counterfeits, electrical items unless they can be tested. Also we don't sell things like child car seats, helmets, lifejackets - can't guarantee they are safe. And then there is all the stuff which people give us and is broken or damaged.

We are very grateful for donations of things we can sell and make money on. The rubbish not so much.

DoItLikeAWoman...I never looked at it that way before, but I know you are right. Maria USA

its so depressing, I can’t bear to think about it. I walk into shops - buy nothing as I see it as a burden to pay for, own, store only to eventually then dispose - but then I remember that regardless of whether or not I do it, someone is going to! We are doomed..

Over here in USA (I'm in the state of South Carolina)...when I go to the charity shops/thrift stores we call them....I look for 100% cotton clothing....to me that is the best material...because we hardly ever find anything in new shops over here that are made with 100% cotton, always a mixture if any cotton at all. Maria USA

This thread has definitely given me something to think about! I have cut down in recent years - buy annual passes for days out instead of short lived toys etc for Christmas, I buy from Vinted more and only when something needs replacing. Old towels and sheets go to the local cat sanctuary.
I am guilty of having some seasonal decorations but use them year after year and won’t replace once beyond repair. I use refillable cleaning products so not buying plastic bottles. Sandwich bags get reused, used coffee gets put on plant in the garden. I can and will do better though.

I know someone who spends £100s a month on Temu/Shein. They have piles of the stuff not even taken out of the box. The house is a complete mess with all this throwaway tat. Their idea of gift giving is ordering a huge haul of cheap tat and then dishing it out between everyone at Christmas or pulling random items out of a box of universal gifts for birthdays.

Under this thread, adverts came up for Easter themed Lego, Amazon deals and clothing. People will always be surrounded by temptation because we all spend so much time on line and ads and links create more profit 😣