Most things are still available at the same quality your parents remember, thanks to ecommerce much more avilable, but sadly also at a similar real price your parents remember which we find extortionary by comparison to all the cheap crap flooding the market.
You can have a tailored suit/shirt, hardwood furniture, grass-fed beef, vacuum to last decades, etc, but it will cost around the same in real terms and you're used to prices from Zara/Lidl.
Some things have truly declined because the demand collapsed so much that they basically got discontinued in the 1st world (that tailored shirt is coming from Ceylon) but others have improved tremendously by soaking up that drive for quality (check any independent coffee shop).
Not to mention the true pinnacles of modern manufacturing. Because for the price of a decent camera my father could get, I have a 100x zoom camera in my pocket, with a 7" touch screen, and 5g connectivity, also somehow all the books I could have ever read.
> Most things are still available at the same quality your parents remember
Just no. The old reputable brands are enshittifying the same way. I’ve multiple times seen it first hand, with brands like Levi’s and Fjällräven. One year of wear is enough to disform the textile entirely. The fabric from those older clothes are still sturdy and whole, with only discoloration at the folding spots. No holes either from decades of use.
I magically found a sturdy canvas backpack 10 years ago and went back to the store recently to check what they had: same brand, but now all polyester.
The difference in quality is immense. Especially textile: clothes and shoes. I don’t expect the same prices, I’m happy to pay more for quality. But the brand alone often means nothing.
Japanese companies have largely bucked the trend of declining quality, at least within their domestic market. I'm not sure if it's related to decades of Japanese deflation or just because of a more discerning quality-conscious consumer base. Uniqlo has done a decent job of carrying that quality consciousness over to the rest of the world.
Yes, you can't get the very same product (Levi's 501s) but you can absolutely get the same thing (straight cut jeans). I don't wear jeans or workwear but heard good things about Bronson Mfg and Red Tornado from enthusiasts.
The price is also quite reasonable (~100 USD) thanks to workwear revival and you can get them in heavier weights (15 oz).
The polyester will sell better because it's lighter and resists water penetration better. Some time back I went through an old box of outdoor stuff from my childhood. Dumped most of it because between a choice of the old free (as I already owned it) gear or buying modern I would buy modern if I hadn't already done so.
Yeah, looking back to my father's SLR. Incredible lens, went all the way up to 100mm! He'd probably faint (can't, he's long gone) if I showed him my DSLR with a 28-300 lens on it that takes far better pictures than his could. And the wastefulness of setting the default on my camera to be a 7-shot bracket??? 5 actual shots per roll??? You measure your shooting capacity in batteries rather than film??? You can put 10,000 rolls of film in that little case that would survive if a truck ran over it???
You can have a tailored suit/shirt, hardwood furniture, grass-fed beef, vacuum to last decades, etc, but it will cost around the same in real terms and you're used to prices from Zara/Lidl.
Some things have truly declined because the demand collapsed so much that they basically got discontinued in the 1st world (that tailored shirt is coming from Ceylon) but others have improved tremendously by soaking up that drive for quality (check any independent coffee shop).
Not to mention the true pinnacles of modern manufacturing. Because for the price of a decent camera my father could get, I have a 100x zoom camera in my pocket, with a 7" touch screen, and 5g connectivity, also somehow all the books I could have ever read.