Hey everyone,

I know, I know—another newsletter so soon. But I had to hit send on this one.

You've been asking me this question for months: "Why don't they make things like they used to?" And honestly, I've been giving you half-answers because I didn't have the full story.

Tonight, PBS is airing something that finally explains it all. I'm talking about the actual reason your grandmother's 1940s coat still looks perfect while your brand-new sweater falls apart after three washes. It's not just nostalgia—there's real science behind it.

I've been diving deep into this topic anyway (you know how I get when something hooks me), but when I saw that tonight's episode features the exact costume historians whose work I've been following, I couldn't wait until my regular schedule to share this with you.

This isn't just another documentary recommendation. This is the answer to that question that's been nagging all of us every time we pull something out of our closet that's already pilling, fading, or coming apart.

So yes, I'm breaking my usual rhythm because some things are just too important to sit on. This is one of them. - and please support PBS.

Me.

I know you get this question constantly. So do I. Why don't they make things like they used to?

Tonight's PBS episode has the answer—and it's more disturbing than you think.

PBS just dropped this fact: "A lot of mass-produced fashion today is only made to be worn about 7 times before it starts pretty much falling apart." Seven. Times.

Your grandmother's 1940s wool coat? Still going strong after 80 years. Your $30 H&M sweater? Pills after three washes.

This isn't nostalgia—it's engineering. As fashion historian Clare Sauro explains in her groundbreaking "Ecology of Fashion" exhibit at Drexel's Academy of Natural Sciences, there's a fundamental difference between "clothing" and "fashion." Clothing was built to last. Fashion is built to move.

Sauro's exhibit features a leopard coat similar to Jackie Kennedy's famous 1962 piece—the one that triggered demand so massive it killed 250,000 leopards and nearly drove the species extinct. But here's the kicker: that vintage coat, made for someone who copied Jackie's look, still looks pristine decades later.

Compare that to today's "fast fashion" where 92 million tons of clothes are discarded every year, much of it unworn, accumulating in places like Chile's Atacama Desert.

The shift wasn't gradual—it was deliberate. The exhibit draws a direct line from mid-century synthetic fibers to 1990s fast fashion to today's "ultra-fast fashion." We went from making clothes that lasted decades to making clothes designed to self-destruct.

Shane Campbell-Staton, the show's host, puts it perfectly: "There's no such thing as a free lunch, and I'm starting to realize there's probably no such thing as a $5 T-shirt, either."

There are already enough clothes in the world to clothe the next six generations. Think about that. Your closet anxiety isn't about not having enough clothes—it's about having clothes that don't last.

As producer Nathan Dappen explains, "We've been trained to become satisfied with the relationship of not cherishing anything in our lives." It's like having 200 acquaintances instead of two true friends.

This isn't just another environmental documentary. It's a detective story about how we got manipulated into accepting disposable quality as normal. The episode traces everything from biotech labs to beaver ponds, from New York Fashion Week to Chile's textile graveyards.

The show contrasts Frederick Anderson—a designer who "puts everything he has into something really special"—with the desert where replicas are "just thrown away." It's the difference between craft and commodity.

Your intuition is right. They really don't make things like they used to—and now you'll know exactly why.

Tonight's episode doesn't just explain the problem; it shows you the faces behind it, the places where your clothes end up, and why that vintage piece in your closet is actually an artifact of a different economic system.

Watch "Dressed to Kill" tonight at 9/8c on PBS, or stream it at PBS.org.

Your relationship with your closet will never be the same.

This episode features interviews with costume historians Clare Sauro (Drexel University) and Sally Tuckett (University of Glasgow), plus exclusive access to the "Ecology of Fashion" exhibit running through August 2025.

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