How many times have you gone to the store, any store, and see a price and tell yourself, "Hell no!"? I know I've done it a couple of times. Then others, I may go back and forth about it, especially if I can tell I already love it.
Well, some things are just worth the price. Moreover, they're really worth it if you can use it more than once. That's why I decided it would be a great time to go over cost per wear, especially as I put it into deeper practice myself and share more about the brand. (Now this is not telling you to go and purchase things outside of your means or that will put you in a hole for paying your bills...don't do that. Always make good purchasing decisions on what's best for you.)
So here we go!
First off, what is cost per wear? Essentially, the term comes down to how much are you paying for the item over the span of its life; or, what would it cost to wear it multiple times that compares to its initial cost. As an example, I have two pairs of shoes that are the most expensive items I have ever bought for my feet. In the moment that I bought both of them, I was cringing but really wanted them. The highest of the two being $300, which is not something I do regularly, or often at all.
Now, understanding cost per wear, let me break this down. I have already had these shoes for a year. Since they are sandals, that's a seasonal item, but I would have from April (weather depending) until September to wear them. That's 5 months of wear time. Even if I don't wear them every single day, I will get more than 10 wears out of them. Let's say I wear them 30 days out of the 5 months. We would divide the initial price by the number of days (300/30), which would amount to $10 per every day that I wore them. That's not bad at all! Even though the initial, upfront price was scary, I now have a quality item that I can wear for a long time.
Okay, I know, "That's great and all, but what about it?" Let's take that same method and apply it to fast fashion or single use items. (Yes, there are some cost-effective items that can last a while, so we won't talk about those...at the moment.) Say you bought a $15 shirt that you loved or wanted for an event. Will you wear it again? And if so, how many times will you be able to wear it? If it doesn't come apart after the first wash or two, like some brands have been known for, you could find a lot of value in it. However, most of the time that's not the case.
Let's use the same example for kicks and giggles, but with our $15. Whether that's a coffee every morning from a shop, any clothing item, or your lunch out of the house, over time that adds up. So let's say we did any of these things for 30 days. For the clothing item bought, (15/30) we may pay 15 cents per wear...if it lasts. If it doesn't last for that first wash, wear, or whatever, we paid $15 for one a one time experience. For the coffee or lunch in 30 days, it adds up to $450 (15x30) in one month's time.
However bleak it may look, the good thing is that with clothing items we can still do something to keep it in our closets or retaining a type of value. This top we used as an example, can be repaired with embroidery if necessary, resewn, or remanufactured (redesigned) into something else. Even with our single use items, most of them can be recycled, like our cardboard coffee cups with the lid and so on. It just takes that little extra effort or step to keep it in the circle.
I also understand the question of why are things so expensive, especially when it comes to sustainable items. The way we have to look at it is from the perspective of how are the workers treated and paid by the manufacturers used, what are the materials and how were they grown and produced, as well as how many items are produced. For custom and small batch, exclusive items, we should expect a higher price point, but also expect the quality as well.
The more I begin to understand cost per wear, the more I hope to help others understand it, as well as to look at the quality of something before the price. Of course, certain specialty items are a different beast, just as much as those other cost-effective items. But for the items, especially clothing, we would use more than once, we have to look at them holistically concerning their value and what their end of life could be, or rather their new life.
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