The Lack of Integrity in Modern Day Consumerism

We live in a time where anything is marketable. For instance, I found a handbag shaped very odd and you could barely fit anything useful into it, and to make it worse, it was made out of tin. I understand being different helps sell more products, but also checking all of the boxes for the product’s functionality should also be a priority. I don’t think I have to mention any brand names because it’s easy to guess which ones I’m talking about. They take everyday objects and barely make it functional and price it heavy because of their name. This article was inspired by Soetsu Yanagi’s, The Beauty of Everyday Things and a handbag my mom owns.

Name = Price

“They must be ready for any type of handling, for use by any individual.” — (Soetsu 35)

This quote should be relevant now more than ever. Soetsu explains that everyday things should be affordable for everyone, durable, and satisfy it’s user. There is no problem with pricing things high because of a brand’s reputation, but I believe that recently, the name decides the price instead of quality. I also understand that supply and demand is the cause for the high prices, but if you’re looking at an exponential return anyway, why not make the quality better? There is a demand for expensive things because we think it gets the job done better than it’s cheaper alternative, which is true in many cases, but also false in plenty. When looking at tech, which is heavily involved in our day to day lives now, chances are the more expensive option will satisfy your needs better than the cheaper options, for example the latest Canon cameras will be better than a camcorder from the 90s. This isn’t the case for most day to day objects though, a shirt shouldn’t be expensive, and if it is, it should be because of the quality and not the brand.

Downfall of Apple (In My Opinion)

As much as I am inspired by Steve Jobs, I think Apple has taken hits in terms of quality, creativity, and innovation in the recent years. They got lazy with their designs, their next product always seems to be predictable now, and it lost it’s magic of excitement and innovativeness. I still think they can redeem themselves; they don’t need to reinvent the wheel, they need to better their products in terms of quality. I’m sure there are a lot of creatives out in Apple making it happen now, but change will definitely take time. I don’t think another Jobs is needed to make change at Apple, a single person's idea isn’t as valuable as a team of people from different backgrounds, which would contribute to a better product for any company or brand.

Simply put, quality isn’t being maintained as much anymore. Apple hasn’t been living up to its motto of “Think Different”, and they aren’t the only company and brand that is slowly losing its reputation because of their laid-back approach to quality.

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