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We wonder about lots of things in life, but one thing we don’t have to wonder about is how a small wardrobe was enough to hold the clothes for two people escalated to harmful mountains of discarded clothing in good condition in countries we have turned into our garbage dumps.
In 2023, the American “organized” closet industry raked in about $8,000,000,000.00 and is growing about 8% annually. 1 The self-storage industry, for those needing even more room, is estimated at $50,000,000,000.00 annually, also with robust growth projections.
What story do the clothes in our closet tell us about ourselves? We are buying more clothes than ever, but do we know why? The people who sell them know exactly what they are selling, and it isn’t clothes.
Lesson 1 for students of marketing is a quote from Charles Revson, founder of Revlon cosmetics: “In the factory we make cosmetics, in the store we sell hope.” The apparel industry valued at $358,000,000,000.00 in 2024 shows Americans throw out 17 million tons of clothing a year with about 65% of them discarded within 12 months of purchase. 2
There is no one reason for this shift. Business studies cite reasons and ways to increase profits by targeting the intangible reasons in their marketing. They understand the “why” and the “need” they are filling and it is never about covering nakedness. They fill a “need” and we agree to participate at unprecedented levels.
And what is this ‘need’? The World Happiness Report shows a significant decline in happiness in the Unites States. 3 Could we be trying to buy happiness masquerading as clothing? There is no one answer to such a complex question, but clearly it is not that we need more clothes.
Our Buddhist understanding of peace of mind or equanimity is gained by dropping our delusions, by seeing life as it is and not as we want it to be. It is by understanding that this peace of mind is acquired only by individual effort, it cannot be external, nor can it be purchased. Buying a pair of Amiri jeans may generate a momentary sense of happiness, but as it is external to us, so is the happiness. It is fleeting.
The dukkha we are trying to keep at bay by purchasing new clothes is an illusion. Dukkha
is never far away, it is always there, waiting. The Buddhist teachings of Dependent Origination, No Self, and The Eightfold Noble Path explain why external sources of “happiness” don’t work. They even guide us with the “how to” path to freedom from dukkha.
But for some of us, these concepts are not easy to put into practice. Perhaps a more simple way for us to understand how to distance ourselves from our powerful ego-self and its attachments is to start with our own closet.
This is not to suggest we walk around in hair shirts or patched monastic robes, no. It is to suggest that while we say we come to Buddhism to find some peace, some release from stress, from anxiety or fear, it is very hard to leave our baggage behind. Shin Buddhism is for us, everyday ordinary people who do not live in monastic communities. We must function in the society we are in and to do that requires some care in our clothing.
What we may consider is the clothes in our closet and their role in our liberation from dukkha, from our ego-self and from attachments. Corporate profit from rampant consumerism is not the problem. They are merely filling our ‘need’ for something. That something is an intangible that may only be satisfied from within our own self. Spending to purchase external happiness does not work. The Buddha’s teaching is clear and simple on that point. The wonder is why it is so difficult for us to even try. Why not check out our closet? Is happiness really in there?
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Rev. Anita
1 https://www.reportsandinsights.com/report/closet-organizers-market
2 https://pirg.org/articles/how-many-clothes-are-too-many/
3 https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/the-sad-state-of-happiness-in-the-united-states-and-the-role-of-digital-media/
This post was written by a human.
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