Daily Politics from the New Statesman Crap, trash and greed
Nov 28, 2025
As Black Friday shoppers hunt for deals, a new phenomenon called 'crapflation' emerges, where consumers spend more on lower-quality goods. Will Dunn explores how e-commerce drives the production of stretchy, disposable clothing and reveals troubling trends in shrinkflation. He recounts a visit to an illegal dump in Oxfordshire, shedding light on organized crime's exploitation of the waste industry. The discussion highlights environmental concerns, political implications, and the urgency to address the growing issue of consumer waste.
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Quality Decline Masks Hidden Inflation
- Clothes and many consumer goods have become cheaper but shorter-lived, causing people to spend more overall on replacements.
- Will Dunn calls this hidden form of inflation "crapflation" because quality deterioration raises lifetime costs for consumers.
Planned Obsolescence And Regressive Costs
- Some firms use planned obsolescence or rely on software updates to make older devices effectively unusable over time.
- Crapflation disproportionately hurts poorer households who must rebuy cheap, low-durability goods more often.
Skip The Black Friday Gimmicks
- Avoid impulse buys on Black Friday; much of the discounted stock is low-quality and will cost more over time.
- Will Dunn bluntly recommends resisting the sales because many deals are effectively a
