An argument for buying less and keeping more
We believe the most sustainable object is one that is never replaced. The most ethical purchase is one made with the intention of permanence. This is not nostalgia, or anti-modernism, or a luxury position that ignores economic reality. It is a proposition that every object deserves more thought than we currently give it.
"Buy one. Use it for thirty years. Give it to someone."
The fashion industry produces approximately 92 million tonnes of textile waste per year. The majority of garments purchased today will be discarded within twelve months. This is not a supply problem — the supply is responding to demand. The demand is for cheapness and novelty, priced so low that disposal becomes rational.
What if we thought about cost differently? Not the upfront price, but the cost per wear, cost per year, or cost per decade. A coat that costs €1,200 and lasts twenty years costs €60 per year. A coat that costs €80 and lasts two years costs €40 per year — cheaper, but it produces ten times as much waste over the same period.
Stargater makes things for the second calculation. We make them well enough that the cost per decade looks reasonable. We design them to avoid fashion cycles so they do not require replacing simply because the aesthetic has moved on.
"The objects you live with should be witnesses to your life — accumulating meaning, not just wear."
This is not a sermon. It is an invitation. Come slowly. Choose carefully. Buy the thing you will still want in fifteen years. That is what we are trying to make.