Join a growing community rethinking consumption, embracing minimalism, and seeking products that are built to endure.
The practical blueprint that follows is a guide to find products that stand the test of time and regular use. It’s the foundation of What Lasts’ mission: helping you buy fewer, better things that prioritize durability, repairability, and timeless design.
Consumers are moving away from wear-once culture toward lasting value, resale markets, and emotional connection to objects—forcing brands to rethink design.
America has always loved “stuff,” but lately, consumerism has hit a new high. The old days of Black Friday lines are gone—now, Amazon’s instant shopping and fast fashion from brands like Shein and Fashion Nova let us fill our carts at record speed, feeding a cycle of endless consumption.
Business schools can help address climate change by promoting anti-consumption business models in their curricula and their own behaviors.
’Buy it for life’ is a concept popular among frugal and minimalist communities … It’s more cost-effective in the long term to buy something you won’t have to replace quickly.
This review provides both a foundational and up-to-date understanding of anti-consumption by summarising seminal and recent work. It then describes the relevance of anti-consumption to both business research and other related areas such as social marketing, public policy, and sustainable consumption. Finally, this review concludes with suggestions for, and implications of, future research.
His focus reflects that of a growing swath of consumers unified under the mantle of buy it for life, or BIFL. … The philosophy purports to strip products of sentimentality and measure the performance and durability of the underlying components.
Materialistic values may stem from early insecurities and are linked to lower life satisfaction, psychologists find. Accruing more wealth may provide only a partial fix.
Reads that inspire thoughtful ownership and durability.
A globe-trotting look at the afterlife of our stuff—and why buying quality to begin with matters.
Why owning fewer, better things makes life richer -- and how to buy with intention.
Practical steps to choose “buy-for-life” items and tune out hype cycles.
A journalist’s exploration of what happens if we reduce or stop consumption, and how that ties into environment, values and BIFL-style thinking.
Snapshots that reveal how durability, value, and culture intersect.
The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing per year.
Extending the average lifespan of consumer goods by 50% can reduce total emissions by 10% to 25%
In 2018, durable goods disposal accounted for 57.1 million tons
Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches than on higher education