I have to admit that I am a bit of a materialistic person. I love expensive gadgets, fine German automobiles and very high quality "things." But my adoration of material things is actually not shallowly conceived. What I admire is the human effort and craftsmanship involved in creating these things. I see an Audi S8 as a fine work of art, an object that represents a point in time, a marvel of technology and a cultural mindset that represents the best of human innovation and thought. Because of this, I will not, ever consider procuring anything unless its the best possible quality.
But my demand for quality can be a very tough point of frustration me my family, friends and co-workers. The majority of the objects in our lives are commodities manufactured in mass quantities to fill the shelfs in Walmart for people who have an itch to blow their hard earned cash on things poorly designed and made of poor quality materials. I feel this mass production mind set greatly contributes to waste, both environmentally and economically. I suggest that if more people opted for quality, they would waste less and ultimately spend less money on useless junk and put fewer things into the trash.
A case in point: A friend of mine refuses to pay too much for a toaster. He was baffled that I was more than willing to spend $100.00 on a toaster and instead opted to buy a $20.00 toaster that seemed to be a fine choice. Well, three years later, he has bought 2 additional toasters, totaling over $60.00. The first two ended up breaking and his latest is a two slicer that burns everything that enters it. Meanwhile, my $100.00 toaster will still be working 20 years from now and at his rate, he will end up spending over $400.00 replacing his substandard toasters during the life of my single premium toaster. Think about all the material waste involved in my friend's toaster quest. The fuel getting to and from the store, the energy required to produce them and fuel needed to transport them from China.
Take this idea to any object in your life and I bet it pans out similar. From wallets, purses to watches and mp3 players--whenever you decide to cut corners, it only means that you end up replacing the item over and over.
I will always make the choice for quality over a good deal or the cheap and quick. Sometimes this forces me wait a bit before getting that thing I need or want, but it always works out. Kitchen knives are something I need really bad. We have had a lot of gift sets from family at Christmas. But 100% of the knives I have are terrible and made for mass production. The handles are plastic, the steel is subpar and the ergonomics are terrible. My wife and I are tempted to just go get a set of knives, but we both insist on getting the highest quality for our needs and that is going to be a big purchase. Ultimately, that will end up being the only set of knives we will ever need.
Living like this drives people who know us nuts. We will research, touch, feel, debate and compare before we buy even a coffee maker. Most people think we are object snobs, but I don't want to put up with broken crap that ends up in landfill. Poor quality makes life difficult.
Our material possessions make say a lot about who we are and how we view the world. I know... you think I am shallow, but its a fact--even for you deep individuals calling me shallow. If you think I wrong, ask a cultural anthropologist...
So, what does your stuff say about you?