‘You go to buy a loaf of bread and come home with a candle’: how fast homewares became the new fast fashion
Supermarkets and high street stores are full of cheap cups, cushions and ceramics. How can it ever be a good deal for designers, factory workers – or the planet?
Walk into any big UK supermarket, and somewhere between the pasta and pet food you’ll find an aisle stacked with seductively stylish yet affordable homeware. From tableware to throws, cushions to coasters, objets d’art to duvet covers, the shelves will be teeming with everything you could possibly need to furnish your home – all in the latest shades and styles, and most costing less than the price of a takeaway.
Just a few years ago, this would have seemed strange, but with Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all launching own-brand homeware ranges in the past decade, and the expansion of Lidl and Aldi, both known for their “middle aisle” bargains, purchasing homewares during the weekly shop has become the new normal.
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