Speeding up the consumerism treadmill
Consumption has nearly doubled in the U.S., and fashion leads the way. One growing retail fashion chain, H&M, specializes in budget knockoffs of high-end clothing, with inventory coming in daily. Amy Scott reports from the shopping frenzy.
Shoppers grab for clothes at the debut of Roberto Cavalli's new collection at H&M's Manhattan retail shop, Nov. 8, 2007. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images) (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
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Doug Krizner: Today's holiday is set aside to commemorate former presidents Washington and Lincoln. What would the celebration be like without a little shopping?
President's Day has become a major retail event. From cars to clothes, there'll be no shortage of bargains. Marketplace's Amy Scott reports has the story of one store catering to the fashion conscious.
Amy Scott: The brand new H&M at the Willow Grove mall outside
Philadelphia doesn't open till noon. But 26-year-old Patrice Boxley showed up two hours early. She joined a throng of shoppers waiting to pounce.
Female Shopper #1: It's inexpensive, but you can get some really fresh, funky stuff.
Female Shopper #2: If it doesn't last, it's OK -- it was only $6.
H&M is short for Hennes and Mauritz. The Swedish company launched its first U.S store in New York City seven years ago. Since then, it's opened 135 stores throughout the country with similar fanfare.
H&M and other so-called "fast fashion" chains are transforming the clothing industry. At most high-fashion houses, it can take six months for a new design to reach the store rack. H&M can deliver a cheap knockoff in as little as three weeks. New styles arrive every day -- in big cities sometimes two or three times a day.
Sarah Denathorn is a self-described chronic shopper. She says the constant churn feeds her habit.
Sarah Denathorn: If you see it, you have to get it, 'cause it may not be there next time you go back.
The frenzy is spreading fast. H&M is expanding into the Middle East and China. This shopper browses one of two new stores in Shanghai.
Female Shopper #3: I'm looking for a tee-shirt to match my skirt today.
She says she owns a hundred pairs of shoes, and shops about once a week.
Juliet Schor: Now, if you're talking about the whole world doing that, that will have big ripple effects throughout the economy and the ecology.
That's Juliet Schor. She teaches sociology at Boston College and wrote the book 'Born to Buy." She says for one thing, as clothing has gotten cheaper... we're buying more of it. Almost twice as much in this country as we did 15 years ago.
Schor says each blouse and boxer short takes a toll on the Earth -- from the pesticides used to grow cotton to the carbon released transporting it. And there's a subtler toll:
Schor: Every individual has to do a lot more work to stay current. It's like a treadmill where we just sped up, but we're all just staying in place.
Back at the mall in suburban Pennsylvania, Patrice Boxley says she's thought about stepping off that treadmill.
Boxley: I just watched a special last week about the whole global warming thing, and like, I said I was gonna go on a financial fast after the H&M opening. But, I don't know, we'll see how that goes.
In Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, I'm Amy Scott for Marketplace.
