(Maybe TMI) Last week my wife was admiring a pair of Patagonia boxers she gave me over 10 years ago. I did note they still looked great after probably a few 100 cycles of washing and drying. I commented that Patagonia made great stuff and actually cared about their materials. So this video is timely.
I'm reminded about what Scott Bessent, the new Treasury Secretary, said earlier this month: Cheap goods are not part of the American Dream [0]. In the US we love our big houses and we fill them up with crap. When the crap overflows it just gets stored in our big garages were we also put our oversized cars. [1]
How we got here today is just the result of the post-WW2 world-order. Global trade was designed to make cheap stuff. While labor rates skyrocketed. So you make more money but you can surround yourself with status symbols and things that supposedly make you more comfortable.
[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/06/treasury-secretary-bessent-s...
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/4TsndZxysts
I hope Patagonia paid Diane Morgan for impersonating her voice and her Philomena Cunk character.
Looks interesting (haven't watched yet) - people into this might also want to check out "Buy Now" (I think only on Netflix: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34350086/) which is a pretty good documentary on the same subject.
oh the irony of this being a Crapagonia product..
"plastic microfibers are us"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/patagonias-poly-hypocrisy-blend...
Shitthropocene. Shittification.
Just say no to neologisms that incorporate the word shit.
I have a half-dozen pairs of North Face pants I bought when I was climbing a lot in the mid 90's. They're seriously out of style, but I wear them all the time because I love how practical they are. Except where I've damaged them due to my own negligence, every pair is still in great shape. It's incredible how well they've held up, and I have other garments and shoes of that era from TNF, Patagonia, REI, and the like that are the same.
During the pandemic, I bought two more pairs of TNF pants (my first since the 90's). Different styles, but within weeks each had developed holes in the pockets, then other weird problems. I hung onto them for a couple years because they were still new and I hate throwing stuff away, but I stopped wearing them because they sucked, then finally, I tossed them. All of the pants from 30 years ago are still going strong.