Patagonia recently released a short film called The Shitthropocene: Welcome to the Age of Cheap Crap.
It focuses on the idea that in today's world, we consume a ton of cheap crap. We buy cheap products that we use once and throw away. We spend hours watching meaningless videos and immediately forget them, rotting our brains.
It begs the question - how did we get to this point? Commerce used to be personal. You'd meet the craftsman or vendor that produced your goods. You'd hear their story, meet them face to face, and engage in a personal transaction.
How did we get to the admittedly convenient, but impersonal and tasteless Amazon age?
The answer: the science of marketing was born. Advertisers figured out how to turn people's dissatisfaction into perceived happiness by getting them to simply buy more stuff.
They created an illusion of a "perfect life" if you bought this or that good. Small, bespoke manufacturers naturally grew with demand, and factories began to rip the personal touch right out of commerce.
Additionally, advertisers excel at creating urgency through fear, prompting you to buy something without thinking about it. Consumers get a strong hit of dopamine when making purchases, but that satisfaction level quickly fades as you get used to owning that item. In today's world, the vast majority of our products are not designed to be cherished for life.
At Antigua Threads, we are not in the business of slinging cheap crap. We wanted to create a belt that people cherish and love, and use their entire lives. Our belts are built for exactly that.
The foundation of our business is the people that handcraft our products and place that inspires them, making your purchase a bit more personal. That is why we emphasize and support the artisans who make your belt. They are craftsmen and women using an ancient 3,000-year-old Mayan technique to carefully craft every stitch of your belt. That is special.
The "Shitthropocene" is killing us and killing our planet. Let's bring the humanity and craftsmanship back to commerce, and support products designed to be cherished.