As a staunch modernist, I am nearly always in favor of new things over old things. However, in these uncertain economic times, I am yearning for basic things that just work well. There is within our economy widespread intentional public deception with regard to the quality of a product that is produced. We will likely never reach a point in our civilization that the sage advice "Buyer Be Ware" is outdated. The problem is that consumers themselves facilitate products that are of low quality because demand truly comes down on the side of inexpensive. In a majority of the cases, Inexpensive = Low Quality.
Here are some not so obvious modern day caveats:
My number one irritation when I am shopping is seeing a product that doesn't explicitly state what it is for. Not only is this bad marketing to not list the benefits of a product to the consumer, it is deceptive in that you may buy it thinking it does one thing, when it's really designed to accomplish something else. Quality products clearly state what they can do.
Beware of products that come with instructions that are difficult to understand. Products lacking clear instructions for use often lacked good planning in their conception. To review thus far, Quality products clearly state what their purpose is and also how to use them.
The real test of a product is the extent to which is can be reused. Recyclibility is not as important. Most things can be recycled, but very few can be reused. Let's start with the consideration that more or less we live in a throw away society. Which raises an important question. Why do we throw things away? Simply put, stuff breaks. However, just because something is broken, meaning it cannot be used for its original purpose, is not enough to explain why so many things are thrown away. A product must also be reasonably replaceable for most people to throw it away. This illustrates why we fill landfills with tons of plastic packaging because no one has a reasonable expectation that we will stop producing inexpensive plastic bottles, containers, and plastic wrap. Out of these three things, not one of them is truly a reusable product. Plastic wrap is often too thin and breaks before it can recover a container. Plastic bottles and containers eventually begin to leak toxins when reused and are prone to adapting odors, cracking, and misshaping. What is unseen by the consumer is that there is a significant cost added to the product because of the container the product is packaged in. Case in point, the bottle in bottled water probably costs more than the water in the bottle.
Reusable is not exactly the same as durability. A wool coat may or may not be durable, meaning it will wear well for a long period of time, depending on the quality of the construction of the garment and the fibre content. However, a wool coat regardless of durability as a coat, could be dismantled, cut up, and braided into a throw rug. This may sound ridiculous today, however, before shelves were flooded with inexpensive throw rugs, people made their own. To take this example a little further, when the wool coat became throw rug and was no longer suitable for inside the home, it probably still had life in the back hallway, and then later outdoors. When it finally outlives its usefulness, the wool rug could be used to keep weeds down in the garden where it will naturally biodegrade. You cannot make the same claims about man made materials and fibers that you can about natural ones with respect to reusability.
To work the green angle, products made from renewable materials present a minimal risk to the natural environment, assuming their manufacturing process is "green." If a product is made all from renewable materials, but in the process we expended a greater amount of energy and subsequently greater carbon emissions, then we've only displaced the harm to the environment in another area. It pays to familiarize yourself with the type of company you purchase products from. Is the product made locally or do you have no idea where it came from?
In Summary, Look for products that indicate what their purpose is, how to use the product, what is it made out of, where the product came from, and who made it. It is also useful to examine what other uses a product has beyond its original purpose and what other uses you may have for a product. And as a matter of common sense, "If it tastes like a lemon, it probably is one."
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