Only buy (and make) top quality, it is the only sustainable option for us all. No shortcuts!

Many companies take shortcuts to generate those promised sales and profits. This is usually not possible without impacting product quality, customers, suppliers or employees, who feel the increasing pressure to make certain concessions in the production process. The infamous salami strategy whereby each time a tiny part is removed, because 'no one will notice'. However, in the end, the consumer does notice this and just stops buying your brand - plenty of alternatives!

Heavy price promotions are no way to create sustainable value either. They just buy volume in the short term. But you pay a price for the temptation of a too low price afterwards. After all, someone needs to pick up the bill. Less margin for companies, for retailers, workers' salaries that are too low, suppliers that feel the pinch, exploitation of the planet – the cost must always be paid by someone – sooner or later.

Where are the decent, durable products from the good old days? The ones that could be passed down from generation to generation. Those quality children's clothes, decent cars, sturdy toasters, undestroyable toys,… The lifecycle of equipment has become much shorter. Either unconsciously because it is made with inferior materials and with much faster production processes causing a loss of quality. Or even worse – consciously - often programmed to age before its time, mostly for technology based products. When did we start finding it normal for a mobile phone to last only 2 years?

I had a really decent car (a Volvo not to name the brand) and after 3 years, my husband suggested it was probably about time to change it, because we could soon expect the costs to start mounting up... Are we ever likely to have old-timers in the future, which chug around cheerfully and proudly at an old-timer rally 30 years on?

What can still be passed on from mother to daughter? I received a Bamix blender 20 years ago, it is still in perfect working order today, which brings me happiness every time I use it, just by the sheer fact that it has never let me down.

In the fashion world too, things are so fast and fleeting. Fast-fashion chains like H&M, Zara and Primark may create happy consumers – but the pleasure is only short-lived – after wearing something 2 or 3 times it's on to the next new item and the previous ones disappear into some charity bag or another if all goes well. That's why Vivienne Westwood recently made a bold plea to perhaps even buy nothing this season. Just buy one nice item, very occasionally. Opt for a smaller wardrobe but with better items. With a bit of luck, in 10 years’ time, my daughters will be pleased with a few pieces from my wardrobe, fingers crossed?

Supermarkets are full of gadgets that come free when you buy something, and these are often made so cheaply that they can only be used a couple of times before ending up in the trash. This shows a lack of respect for the consumer who we deceive with poor quality items. If these manufacturers do this with gadgets, what does this imply about their own products? And what about the supplier of these gadgets who is squeezed far too hard. And perhaps, worst of all, the people who produced these items for a few cents each under harsh conditions.

So we should not go for more, but for better. For quality rather than quantity. And going for better extends to the entire ecosystem of employees of the company, their suppliers and the planet. The only way to keep our unbridled growth sustainable is by doing everything we do in quality - and in connection with everything and everyone around us.

Every decision that you make is influencing everything else in the chain. So choose consciously and wisely every time. Every euro you spend is a choice. Choose quality. It will pay off in the long term, because it is the only sustainable model for people and the planet. And every one of us can do this every day, on a micro scale, by going for quality in all that we do.

There is certainly still potential to grow, but we need to redefine this from quantity to quality and from welfare to well-being. Don’t go for more, go for better!

PS: Could you name a brand or piece of equipment that has lasted more than 10 years already? We should celebrate and support such decent brands! #sharingiscaring #qualityforever #sustainability #oneecosystem