Opinion: No one wants your junk

Charity shops are bursting with unwanted items. Photo / file

COMMENT

If your household is anything like mine, you've got a guilty collection of broken appliances that aren't worth fixing.

There's the air fryer that still rotates but no heat comes out, the hair straighteners that no longer turns on, the toaster that still cooks but the lever doesn't stay down.

They sit in the dark and dusty corner of shame, the pile of things you tell yourself may come in handy one day (maybe we can use them for parts?) but in reality, you just feel too guilty to throw them away.

It's all part of the culture of planned obsolescence. It's not your imagination, things these days really don't last as long as they used to. And, funnily enough, they often seem to break down just after the warranty expires.

In fact, many products these days are designed to break down after a certain age and are cheaper to replace than to repair, meaning the retailers and manufacturers get our money instead of the repairman.

It's similar with fast fashion.

We try to assuage our guilt at our growing piles of perfectly good, but now unfashionable, clothing by telling ourselves someone else will be grateful to wear them.

The problem is, charity shops are becoming overwhelmed with donations of unwanted goods. It's hard for them to sell on a used T-shirt from a big-box retailer when a shopper can buy something brand new for $10.

Because new clothing is so cheaply available, op shoppers turn their noses up at second-hand fast fashion. What they really want is quality clothing at a bargain price.

The truly dedicated will spend hours digging through piles of last year's discarded trends to find a quality timeless designer item.

It's a perfect storm for charity shops that are becoming dumping grounds for the cheap items that no one wants - but no one wants to throw out.

Solutions lie in changing our shopping habits.

We can invest in one-off quality pieces rather than buying the cheap version that'll only last six months.

These items will still have some life in them when we're ready to hand them on to be appreciated by someone else.

We could also find ways to reuse or repair what we've got rather than handing the problem to someone else to deal with.

And if you're going to donate something, make sure it's worth buying. No one wants your junk.