What Is The Cost?
Issue 03 | November 2025
Bailey Stolze, Vice President
Photograph by Olivia Litts
The products of the human hand were unique as well, bearing through their distinguishing irregularities the signature of the maker.”
- Charles Eisenstein, Sacred Economics
As mass production and same day shipping and cheap plastics become the norm in our society, we lose the unique touch of the craftsman and the artisan. We become disconnected from what it means to create something out of the gift of imagination and creativity. We lose out on knowing the maker and their particular story and gifts in the world. We consume without any thought as to where these products came from and where they will go when the trend passes next year. We receive packages on our doorstep not knowing that the same exact thing was sent to many a doorstep all over the world—all bearing the same cold perfection that can only be produced by the steely arms of machines and cheap, easily moldable materials.
Although the craftsman and the artisan have never gone completely away, is there a way to bring them back to prominence in this world of large profit margins and homogeneity? Can we as consumers give up our notions of perfection, consistency, and cheapness? Are we willing to buy cheese from someone who cannot guarantee one batch will taste the same as the next? Or clothing where the dye may differ between two pieces, because they were dipped into different vats? Or can we learn to mend small snags and fallen buttons so we can put more into one purchase and keep it longer? The great thing about a free market is that it bends to the will of the consumer. It reflects the values we hold. If we can’t find what we’re looking for—be it good, clean food or organic cotton sweatpants—it’s because we’ve chosen to believe that beauty and integrity doesn’t and shouldn’t extend to those things.
For people who accept and invite the challenge, this is a creator's dream. Where do their gifts and others’ needs meet? How can they put their unique stamp on the world while caring for those around them and the earth that holds them? These type of people who put their souls into any good and honest thing know that anything worth having comes at a price. Joan Didion says, “People who respect themselves are willing to accept the risk that the […] venture will go bankrupt […]. They are willing to invest something of themselves.” And something of themselves they do indeed invest. Who is the artist that is not changed by their own art? Who creates something that honors the earth with profit in mind? “When profit becomes the aim, and not a mere side effect of artistic creation, the creation ceases to be art, and we become sellouts,” Charles Eisenstein cuts deep with this quote. The honest artisan strives for something beyond prosperity and prestige. They’re striving for a better world and they’re brave enough to believe they can be a part of creating it.
We as consumers must match the maker’s earnest devotion. We should not settle for mere utility in our products and in our lives. Just because we need something to be useful does not mean that it has to be ugly. Beauty serves us even in the small things, and everything we opt to purchase or make tells a story of what we value.
We will never reach perfection in these things. I don’t believe that’s really the goal either. All we can do is continually make small choices that align with where we want to be headed. We can search for those people and those companies who are doing their best to make products—be it games, clothes, tables, even the humble broom—that use ethical practices, fill needs in their communities, and show true expertise and craftsmanship. Look for those that use natural materials such as cotton, wool, linen, and hemp. Find the people that create their own sewing patterns and make small batches of clothing. Look for the potter that uses natural paints on their ceramics. There are those that are committed to only using natural and clean ingredients in their cookies, protein bars, and other snacks. You won’t find trends here, you won’t find them trying to keep up with what every other company is doing. You’ll just find honest work.
As we head into the holiday season we will be inundated with sales and codes and Black Friday deals. Every year it seems to creep up earlier and earlier as companies compete with each other to be the first to get your dollar. You probably won’t see deals from your favorite small business or creator. This is okay. This is good. Everything worth having comes at a cost. Costs we can’t see, or don’t know about. Cost goes beyond price, the mere dollar amount. You see, the dollar amount takes into account the price of the raw materials, the production, and profit margins. Cost looks deeper into where the materials came from—what is the effect on the soil or the air or the water due to the production of said material. It takes into account the time someone spent making the product, but also the time spent away from their family and other sacrifices they had to make. Deals and sales would be to diminish these costs, to make them unimportant. We, as the consumer, can choose to see the costs and honor them. Maybe that means buying less gifts, or taking time to choose and not be rushed along with the hype of trends. We will see gift guides and top ten favorite things to decorate with. We get to make small choices in this. We get to unsubscribe from the emails, close out of Instagram, and really evaluate want we want and why we want it. Only then can we make purchases that truly align with us.