Sale Culture & Me
Where does my handmade clothing fit into a sidewalk sale?
TLDR: It doesn’t.
Photo: Mae Stier
Model: Abby Baudry
I feel compelled to open this inevitable soap-box spiel with a true statement: Gosh, do I love a sale.
Obviously, as a consumer & lover of fashion, finding treasures at a steal of a price provides unmatched dopamine rushes. Within the last several years, the only times I’ve allowed myself to purchase clothing off the rack is from the mega clearance section. Truthfully, 9/1O times my sale finds are from the women’s side.
My ridiculous justification is: “If Old Navy has marked this cozy 4XL hoodie down to $3, it’s worth essentially nothing to them & they’re going to ship it away overseas as trash next week where it will just end up in the ocean shoreline along Ghana.” While dramatic & only partially true, I know my weekly use provides a good home. And yeah, even as a sustainable clothes maker, life is finding balance in our conscious choices.
Constant sales work well for clothing companies like Old Navy. If they are able to get even a few dollars from someone like me every few months, they consider that a win. With such high quantities in production, they can afford to lose money on clearance sales.
As thousands of new clothing pieces rotate in every few months, it’s infinitely worth more to push product than to sit on last season’s leftovers.
“Sales immediately devalue products. It reinforces the idea of massive markups along the entire production line & that the clothing items were never expected to sell at their original price point. ”
The system doesn’t work when you aren’t making margins off someone else’s labor. As a sewist & maker, the concept of pushing sales makes me feel like I’m devaluing my time. Also, I’m grateful to receive enough business to maintain a balance between supply & demand, my production & sales.
There are moments when a sale makes sense for nykamping. I feel like seldom yet sporadic, special sales gain more traction & excitement with my customer base. They know when a sale is here, it’s time to snag a piece they’ve had eyes on. My goal is to limit nykamping to 2 sales a year.
Pricing is weird & awkward. I think it’s this way for every artist & most small businesses. “What is my time worth?” Items & skills & services hold these societally-acceptable values; however, amidst an increasingly automated world, paying more for products & services directly from personable people only continues to grow in value. Supporting artists & makers takes many forms, but financially buying into someone’s one-person business is one of the most affirming & culture-building acts we can do.
All this to say, thank you.
