Wish Lists-
First, I have to admit I really like Amazon's Wish List feature, for a number of reasons. Whenever I think of something I think I really need I put it up on my wish list instead of putting it into my shopping cart.This does a number of things,
- It keeps me from making too many impulse purchases because something that seems really important today may seem less important after a couple days of thinking about it. Sometimes things sit on my list for a while and eventually I decide I don't need them after all and drop them.
- I can gauge the importance of what I think I want today versus other things I've put on the list in the past. Yeah that fancy Android Watch would be cool to have but I'd rather save up for a new Guitar to replace the thirty-something-borrowed-and-never-gave-back one I've been using for 20-odd years now.
- It helps me budget and manage spending better. Maybe this month I had some unexpected car expenses so the list stays put. In a couple months I have it payed off and can take a look at what I might need from the list.
- It's not just for me. I also keep track of gifts I think of for friends and family. When an occasion presents itself I'm not left thinking, "What can I get so-and-so?", I might have a something they mentioned a couple months ago that I would have otherwise inevitably forgotten about.
- I can kind of keep track of prices and sales. It's not the most efficient process possible because it's not automatic but I can put something on the list and watch the price fluctuate over time. A bulb I'll eventually need for my TV started somewhere near $100, yikes. Today its less than $35. I have a camera and a drawing tablet on the list that I know will decrease in price over time. Keeping them on my list let's me keep tabs on them over time and when they hit a certain price I'll consider them. There are a pair of outdoor speakers I'd like for my patio but I know they periodically go on sale for $30 less than they are today so since I'm not in a rush I won't consider buying them until I see them on sale again.
- It's not just items from Amazon. I can put anything from any website on the list. I can even put random items on the list. I'd say most of the items I have listed are available on Amazon but I don't need to purchase them there. If I can find something locally I'd rather support the local business but if not Amazon is happy to drop it off at my door.
The Jeans-
So back to the jeans... For Christmas this year I took the easy way out, when family asked about what I might want I pointed them to my Amazon wishlist. Somewhere half way down the list I have a pair of Loomstate organic cotton jeans with a list price of $178 that my dad happened to notice and questioned my sanity. I could probably find them for less retail but when I added them to my list I added them right from loomstate.com. Sadly they don't make these jeans anymore (I wish I knew why) so I missed my chance anyway. But the question remains, why $178 for a pair of jeans when I could go to Target and get a similar style for around $20?
The answer is cost. Yes, those $20 jeans appear to cost $158 less but that's not the full cost that you and I, and everyone on Earth ends up paying for them. Those $20 jeans are made by workers in China or India making somewhere around the ballpark of 10 cents an hour, without the benefit of safe or healthy working conditions. But before you even get to the workers, where does the cotton for the denim come from? Fields can be made to produce a lot of cotton quickly by dumping tons of fertilizer, but then you also need tons of pesticides and herbicides to produce it so quickly and cheaply but then of course the fields will be so damaged they won't produce anything more for generations. Oh, and don't drink the water nearby. Speaking of water- there's also the dying process, which to be done cheaply also requires a lot of water and of course that can't be properly disposed of when it needs to be done cheaply and quickly either. Since the jeans were made in China or India, to get to you they need to be shipped. Coal burning transport ships are the cheapest, also one of the largest single producers of CO2 today.
Here's a excerpt from Loomstate's website to describe how they do things differently (found here):
Beginning with the design process in our New York studio, Loomstate directly manages all stages of manufacturing, from the fabric mills, to the cut & sew facilities and finally the laundries to ensure all partners are participating in responsible manufacturing processes. Loomstate works with factories representing the "Gold Standard" or model of excellence of responsible production methods. All Loomstate factory partners are required to adhere to a code of conduct and Terms of Engagement in our company manufacturing agreement. These factories must use the highest environmental and labor standards, controlling factory pollution, and enforcing fair labor as the cornerstone of the effort.
Loomstate is fully committed to organic farming, which is a form of agriculture which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. Organic cultivation requires managing and preserving the sensitive ecosystem as opposed to stripping the land of its resources as conventional farming does. Loomstate uses 100% certified organic cotton from various regions of the world such as Turkey, Peru, Africa, India and the USA.
Now I'm not saying they do everything perfectly, I just don't know all the details but it sounds like a much better outlook and focus than the companies that turn a profit on the backs of the laborers and the environment. Is that along worth $158? I guess it depends how you look at it.
Then there's the issue of what are you really getting for the money? Cheap jeans are designed to last for a certain period of time. That period of time is not especially long. I had a very comfortable pair of jeans I got from Target a couple years ago. They lasted a couple months before they lost continuity (a seam in the buttocks area completely gave way). Now I'm not known for having an especially extravagant posterior so I have to blame the construction of the jeans themselves. Not being a slave to fashion or trends (or even common style rules if we want to get down to it) I would have been better of spending twice the amount I spent on jeans that probably would have lasted 5 times as long. And when I wear my jeans I wear them, I don't think a week is too long for one pair of jeans at a time.
I'm not saying everyone (or anyone) should go out and buy $178 jeans (I didn't) but before you bring your latest purchase to the checkout (or click checkout from the website) I hope you think about what the full cost really is, not just how much you are paying.
