We've all experienced the irritation of a much-loved dress or top shrinking in the wash, coming apart at the seams or fraying at the hem.

我们都经历过痛失一条心爱裙子或上衣的时刻，它们有的洗后缩水，有的沿着缝迹开裂，有的在边缘处磨损。

Yet in our throwaway society, we often accept this lack of longevity as one of those things. After all, we can just go to a High Street shop - or online - and buy a new item for the cost of a cinema ticket.

然而，我们现在身处一个“用了就丢”的社会，似乎对这些服装的短命习以为常了。毕竟，我们只需要去大街上的服装店或上网就能买到新品，且只用花费一场电影的价钱。

Today, men’s shirts are designed to last just 30 washes, according to trade association the International Fabricare Institute. Some brands even use impermanence as a selling point - Nike charges £90 for its Mayfly trainers, which were originally designed to fall apart after just 62 miles (100km) of wear.

据国际织物保养学会这一贸易协会的透露，如今设计出的男士衬衫和T恤只成能承受30次洗涤。有些品牌甚至把“非永久”为卖点。例如耐克的蜉蝣（Mayfly）跑鞋售价90英镑，该款鞋最初被设计成经过62英里（即100千米）的运动量就会报废。

So what's changed? One obvious explanation is "planned obsolescence" - a sneaky trick to design garments to wear out, lose shape or fall to pieces easily to force consumers to keep buying replacements.

那是什么改变了？一个明显的解释就是“计划性报废”，即为了迫使顾客一直更换衣物，而将服装设计成易穿旧、易走形或易破损的一个狡猾招数。

"That means manufacturers can get away with producing clothing that isn't well-constructed or finished, meaning its lifespan is often just one season - and sometimes just a single wash."

“这意味着制造商可以大肆制造做工不怎么好的衣服，也就是说那些衣物通常只能穿上一季，有时甚至洗一次就报废了。”

Stores have new stock arriving every week and items go out of fashion in the blink of an eye.

商店也每周就进新货，而这些商品过时也就是一眨眼的功夫。