Why is the quality of everything so shit?

[Notcontent]

So tired of this. For example, recently bought sine flannel pyjamas from Hush. They arrived and looked lovely and cosy - great, these will last me for years, I thought... I look after my clothes - wash at low temperature, low spin and air dry. I have washed these 3 or 4 times and the fabric has become really rough and slightly bobbled - they look like I have washed and tumble dried them about 100 times.... Same with a jumper I bought in uniqlo.

This did not happen with clothes I bought 20 years ago. I know it’s the quality of the fabric. Grrr...

My family ran an expensive designer clothing shop for men for over 40 years.

A long time ago 'designer' brands wanted to be stocked by well regarded independents like ours.

We picked brands based on quality and style. Our customers trusted us with this.

Fast forward to the past decade and brands began to have their own shops, as well as being stocked by independents. They cut corners with fabric, design and manufacture.

Even brands with a strong association with British or Italian heritage used fabrics and manufacturing in China. To start with much of the merchandise continued to be of good quality. But then things stated slipping.

The brands began to focus on making as much money for their shareholders as possible in the short term, and less on building a reputable brand with longevity.

They squeezed our margins, forced us to spend huge amounts by increasing the allowed minimum spend, forced us to buy what they wanted us to stock rather than allowing us to stock what we knew would sell to our demographic. They dictated our prices, and on what dates we could have seasonal sales (with their own stores allowed to go on sale sooner).

Their own stores rode on the back of the reputation that independents like ours had created for the brand. Quality continued to dip, causing us huge issues- but the brands were still in demand as they were so well known.

Two years ago we realised the business model no longer stacked up and after 44 successful and 3 awful years we cut our losses and closed down. I miss it, but I don't miss selling substandard bad quality clothing with designer labels at insane prices .

A lot of these brands are beginning to pay the price for their short term thinking- but not enough to turn back the clock.

I don't know the answer anymore. It's very sad.

What a sad and depressing story freckles - whatever you're doing now, I hope it's going well.

So much industry experience and expertise on this thread.... I kind of want to get you all in a room together (socially distanced of course). But there would still be the problem of having no infrastructure any more.

@Floisme thank you. I'm doing a very different self employed job now which I enjoy. But I miss retail enormously. I worked at Harrods on their graduate scheme and was a buyer at Harvey Nichols before going home to join my family retail store. So 'quality' retail is very much part of me and I loved looking after my customers.

But it all went so awry. I realised that I no longer could see any answers, or a way forward. It was a tough call, but the right one I think sadly.

I watch with wonder at what on earth Mike Ashley is doing, and at the shameful quality of clothing sold by 'prestigious' brands these days.

Is it wrong of me to want Freckles to name and shame? I am sure that she is too discreet. My money is on Aquascutum, Gieves & Hawkes and DAKS.

Two out of three @Iamthewombat. I am tempted. I'm probably safe to name as it's all true and I no longer have any connections with the industry.

Most (British) people are completely distanced from the business of making clothes, have low expectations of durability/quality, are over invested in fashion, so they are sitting ducks to be sold some new rubbish every season. Like many things the industry has no motivation to do itself out of business by selling things that last. It's like wearable junk food. And like junk food you get tired of looking for alternatives, give up and go along with it.

The only thing I can think of is that the availability of cheap labour and materials might dry up/get more expensive such that people will be forced to make do and mend and think more carefully about what they buy or throw away. But then the economies of the producer countries who are toxically reliant on selling us this rubbish would have to re adjust.

It's the same with more expensive clothes too.
I brought a gorgeous chunky 4 ply cashmere cardigan in the Brora sale over 15 years ago. It cost around £125 then. I have worn it loads.
A more recent Brora cashmere purchase has bobbled and honestly looks crap. Really disappointed!

@GrumpyHoonMain I have done lots of research into this and Primark talk a good game but are a dreadfully unethical business. They do not pay living wages, although they’ve ‘set targets’ for environmental standards they have no plans in motion to meet them or deadlines. They say they vet factories in the final stages of clothing production but there are two stages of factories before that aren’t vetted, they use factories that pollute water courses.

Ultimately they encourage people to buy poor quality throw away. They can greenwash their business all they like, it isn’t ethical or environmentally sound. There is no way it could be selling clothing for so cheap.

The only thing I can think of is that the availability of cheap labour and materials might dry up/get more expensive such that people will be forced to make do and mend and think more carefully about what they buy or throw away. But then the economies of the producer countries who are toxically reliant on selling us this rubbish would have to re adjust

Labour will dry up eventually. When l was working in the 80’s as a designer, loads of stuff was made in the then LEDC like Korea or Singapore. When they became too expensive production was switched to Bangladesh and Vietnam. But these will eventually become more developed and there will be no one to make cheap clothes in the 3rd world. Production moves from country to country depending on how cheap they are. Cost drives everything. I’ve been in meetings where buyers have haggled over the price of top stitching.

I agree that Primark is dubious too.

They have ‘show’ factories and real factories. Monsoon is also bad.

It's all because of the Primark affect! People demand cheaper and cheaper prices, and shops like Primark do things so cheaply that anything other than cheap seems extortionate! So in order to appear competitive other manufactures have to cut costs and the only way to do this is lower the quality.

I just had a delivery from www.grass-fields.com both items are incredibly well made and one item is waxed cotton, but a lot softer than a waxed jacket. I'm normally an 18 in most stores but these are smaller than usual , probably a proper 18 for my blazer which is perfect on my shoulders so I'll wear it open. My size 20 trousers are just about wearable but I need to lose a little weight to make them comfortable.

There was a wonderful menswear shop in a Devon cathedral city that closed about three or four years ago that reminds me of Freckles family business. If that was your shop (it began with L), then I want you to know that we miss you dreadfully!

I read somewhere that so many of our unwanted clothes end up in third world countries that it decreases demand for clothes manufactured in those countries.

Thank you to those of you with industry knowledge, this thread is so interesting and very sad.

@savvy7

I read somewhere that so many of our unwanted clothes end up in third world countries that it decreases demand for clothes manufactured in those countries.

Yes I've read that too. About countries in Africa I seen to remember. Everything is so interlinked, our actions (even well meaning donations can have knock on effects across the world)

Argh. Just typed and lost a post about this article that i thought people mihht find interesting

www.bbc.com/future/article/20210316-the-legendary-fabric-that-no-one-knows-how-to-make

It's about how cost cutting wiped out an ancient textile manufacturing industry and how hard it is to now undo that harm.

I’m reading ‘To Die For’ by Lucy Siegle and it’s horrifying. Planned obsolescence is a huge thing in the fashion industry and brands will do anything to keep us buying more and more. The sad thing is, that book came out in 2011 and 10 years later, things are the same if not worse. Lauren Bravo has a similar book which came out only a couple of years ago: ‘How to Break Up with Fast Fashion’.

I started reading about fast fashion because I am a bit of a compulsive buyer. I’ve always shopped in charity shops but switched to eBay from new in lockdown to lighten the load on my bank balance. I’m now making a huge effort to stop buying all together, and when I need something new to buy from ethical companies.

Sadly the ethical brands listed on the Good On You directory still don’t make amazing clothes - I bought T-shirt’s from Rapanui recently and the fabric was quite thin and really tight under the arms. It seems there is no right answer 🤷‍♀️

@Chickydoo

It's the same with more expensive clothes too. I brought a gorgeous chunky 4 ply cashmere cardigan in the Brora sale over 15 years ago. It cost around £125 then. I have worn it loads. A more recent Brora cashmere purchase has bobbled and honestly looks crap. Really disappointed!

This is the sole reason why I kept my Brora cardigans from over a decade ago. It’s far better quality of cashmere compared to what they sell now. I had to lose weight to get back into them though!

Such an interesting thread. Thank you all. Can I mention denim? I haven’t seen any reccs so far for decent quality jeans which cater for larger sizes. Can anyone recommend anywhere? I live in black jeans but high street quality is trending steadily downwards and I keep sending back pairs from Gap because they are getting worse and worse. I need to find a better quality alternative.

@savvy7

I read somewhere that so many of our unwanted clothes end up in third world countries that it decreases demand for clothes manufactured in those countries.

That's why I never put any clothes out in those bags that get posted through your letterbox - I think that's where they end up.

I turn the bags inside out and use them to take our outgrown/unwanted clothes to our local charity shops instead

@CallforHecate, but how much are you prepared to spend on a pair of jeans?

You can buy them, from Hiut or Black Horse Atelier to name two companies, and they are made for you to your measurements.... but you won't get much change from £200.

Before a company sells the first item, there are all the overheads to pay, the staff, the rent on the premises, the website that drives marketing where you see the products, rates, the material to sew, and a bit of stock... in the most popular sizes only. So the price you pay can only be £50 if they are selling thousands of pairs. I do know we are all used to buying inexpensive clothes, but they are cheap for lots of reasons.

I understand that I am privileged to be able to buy nice jeans, and to have enough money to pay the price the quality I want justifies spending... in return, I get a pair of jeans to wear for 8 - 10 years. I do not buy a lot and I wear jeans almost every day. Don't ask me to tot up the total cost of my jeans wardrobe...

I've started buying vintage dresses from Ebay. Stuff made in the 60s and the quality is amazing. Most of my recent buys are older than me and have lasted a lot better.

@freckles20 you might enjoy this crazy in depth read about the demise of the high end fashion market:

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/06/magazine/fashion-sweatpants.html