At first, sales were invented to clear out the last of the swimsuits to make room for winter coats. Well, not exactly, since this was the 19th century, but you get the idea: sales allowed retailers to clear out summer collection stock before moving on to the winter collection, and vice versa.

Since then, two things have changed:

1. There are now far more than two collections per year.
2. Brands produce on a just-in-time basis and therefore have fewer and fewer unsold items.

As _Wikipediaputs it, even if they claim otherwise, brands no longer really need to hold sales. Yet, it seems like the promotions never end: 70% off for Black Friday. 35% off during pre-sales. 50% off for Mother's Day. 45% off just because it's an even-numbered week.

The result? In France, _{one out of every two garments is sold at a discount or on promotion}.

With promotions happening so often, are we actually getting better deals?

No.

It’s because brands can no longer sell their products any other way. It’s because we’ve become so accustomed to buying on sale that everything else feels too expensive the rest of the time. For both customers and brands, discounting has become an addiction.

To keep up this frantic pace of promotions, brands have four options:

1. Engage in a price war by cutting production costs. This is a bad idea for everyone: the people making the clothes, the planet, and even the people buying them.
2. Cheat. By artificially inflating prices just to lower them during sales, or by creating lower-quality collections specifically for clearance... The list of questionable practices is long.
3. Die. Because if you keep playing with your customers' trust, you eventually wear them out.
4. Slow down. Run fewer promotions, hold sales for the right reasons (i.e., to clear out last season’s stock), or stop running sales altogether.

At Loom, we made the mistake of offering promotions here and there in the beginning... Because we hadn't really thought it through. Because (almost) everyone in e-commerce does it. Because our customers were asking for it. And then we decided to stop. Here is why:

1. We don't need them. We don't have a seasonal collection system but a unique range of timeless clothing. There’s no need to rush to clear out our stock to make room for new arrivals. That’s (also) what slow fashion is all about.
2. We can't afford it. We strive to offer a fair balance of quality, ethics, and price all year round. If we were to add discounts on top of that, our business wouldn't be economically viable.
3. We don't want others to pay the price. Loom’s mission is to create durable clothing: pieces that last longer and have less impact on the environment. If we wanted to sell at even lower prices, we would have to compromise on the quality of our products, degrade the working conditions of those who make them, or increase our negative impact on the planet. In short, we would have to turn to fast fashion (and that is definitely not our dream).
4. Less, but better. Sales are primarily an artificial way to make you consume things you don't need. We don't want you to buy from us because it's a bargain, but because you actually need the garment and want to keep it for a long time.

We aren't the first company to give up on sales, and we won't be the last. All over France and around the world, brands and consumers are taking a stand against a fashion industry that has lost its way. And that’s a good thing.

Let’s buy less. Let’s buy better.

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Who are we to say this? 

You are on La Mode à l’Envers, a blog run by the clothing brand LoomThe textile industry is in a bad way, and the planet is paying the price. We’re here to break down everything we’ve learned about the sector. Because making sustainable clothing is great, but being transparent, sharing knowledge, and inspiring change is even more powerful.

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