Stressflation and Product Recalls: Why the 2025 Consumer Crisis Is Fueling the Secondhand Luxury Boom

The modern consumer landscape is fractured. A pervasive sense of economic anxiety, dubbed "Stressflation," born from the perceived failure of abstract monetary systems, now collides with a tangible crisis of trust in mass-produced goods, exemplified by a recent spate of high-profile product recalls. This dual collapse—of faith in the ephemeral promise of money and the ephemeral promise of disposable products—has created a cultural vacuum. This study argues that this vacuum is being filled by a powerful counter-movement: a consumer-driven shift towards a "Creed of Permanence." As trust in both abstract financial systems and concrete mass-market goods erodes, consumers are seeking refuge in tangible, durable assets rich with narrative, fueling an unprecedented boom in the secondhand luxury market and signaling a fundamental recalibration of value itself.

The central conflict of the 2025 consumer crisis. A scale tips in favor of "Permanent Assets" (tangible, durable goods) over "Ephemeral Money" (failing abstract systems), visualizing the cultural shift towards a "Creed of Permanence."

The Failure of the Abstract: "Stressflation" and the Collapse of Monetary Faith

The contemporary consumer is adrift in a sea of cognitive dissonance. This dissonance is defined by a profound, measurable gap between two realities: the abstract prognostications of macroeconomic models and the visceral, lived experience of economic anxiety. While analysts point to "cooling" inflation and a "strong" macroeconomy, the public registers a sentiment of decay, a deep-seated pessimism that has unmoored itself from the data and become a cultural condition in its own right. This is the first head of the dragon: the failure of the ephemeral systems of abstract value, primarily monetary policy, to provide a stable foundation for cultural life. This failure has generated a new, pervasive psychological state—"Stressflation"—and has revealed that public anxiety is no longer a simple reaction to prices, but a total loss of faith in the system's abstract promises.

The Sensation of Decay: Quantifying the Great Disconnect

The central paradox of the 2024-2025 economic environment is the complete decoupling of consumer sentiment from macroeconomic indicators. While the US economy is described as "strong," buoyed by "cooling inflation, still-low unemployment, and higher wages that have outpaced inflation," this has "not improved sentiment, which is still far below prepandemic levels". This "Great Disconnect" is the primary evidence that the public is no longer interpreting economic data; they are reacting to a deeper, more pervasive feeling of systemic instability.

This anxiety has been quantified and given a name: "Stressflation." This term has been coined to describe the widespread "mental health impacts from financial stress driven by inflation and economic uncertainty". The scale of this condition confirms its status as a mass cultural phenomenon: a June 2025 survey found that 83% of Americans are experiencing "stressflation". This financial stress is having tangible health consequences, with nearly half (47%) of respondents reporting they have skipped therapy appointments due to cost constraints.

The anxiety is not a lagging indicator; it has become a permanent, anchored state. The inflation shock of 2022, which saw the annual rate of inflation peak at 8.0%, acted as a breach of the social contract , following an initial 4.7% rate in 2021. This event shattered the public's belief in economic stability as sentiment plummeted. Consequently, even as the annual inflation rate cooled significantly, falling to 4.1% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024, consumer sentiment did not recover.

Instead, it continued to collapse, cementing a cultural "Disconnect" where anxiety became anchored. This timeline of public anxiety confirms a break in trust. By September 2025, with inflation at 3.0% , the anxiety crystallized into "Stressflation". Key indicators validated this: the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment index sat at a catastrophic 53.6, a 24% year-over-year decline , while The Conference Board's Expectations Index registered 73.4. This level has been below the 80-point threshold that signals a recession since February 2025 , a nine-month declaration of no confidence. This data maps the public's journey from initial trauma to a state of anchored pessimism, with 83% of Americans now reporting mental health tolls from this financial stress.

Empirical proof of "Stressflation." Data from a June 2025 survey by LifeStance Health quantifies the mass cultural phenomenon, revealing that 83% of Americans are experiencing mental health impacts from financial and economic uncertainty.

The data for 2025 provides the most stark validation of this anchored anxiety. In October 2025, the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment registered a catastrophic 53.6, representing a 24.0% decline from the previous year, even as inflation rates stabilized. The internal data from this survey is even more telling: consumers are not expecting relief. Instead, "long-run inflation expectations increased from 3.7% last month to 3.9% this month" and "inflation uncertainty... ticked up for both time horizons".

This sentiment is echoed by The Conference Board, whose Consumer Confidence Index also declined in September 2025 to 94.2. The critical component of this report is the Expectations Index, which is based on the short-term outlook for income, business, and labor. This index fell to 73.4. Crucially, "Expectations have been below the threshold of 80 that typically signals a recession ahead since February 2025". This is not a temporary blip; it is a sustained, nine-month-long (and counting) cultural declaration of no confidence. The public, having been burned by the volatility of the system, now expects failure as a baseline condition.

Inflation as the Failure of the Sign

This profound loss of faith cannot be explained by classical economics alone. It requires a cultural-theoretical lens. Drawing on the work of sociologist Jean Baudrillard, we can understand that consumer society is not organized by the production of goods or the satisfaction of "natural" needs, but rather by the "social meaning found in the exchange of signs". In this system, "needs" themselves are a "social discourse," and consumption is "directed by signs".

The ultimate ephemeral object, the universal signifier that underpins this entire system, is abstract currency. Money is the abstract promise that all other signs (of status, of value, of utility) can be exchanged. Inflation, in this critical framework, is not merely a technical adjustment of price; it is the devaluation of the sign itself. It is a public, systemic admission that the core promise of stable value—the promise that gives the system its coherence—is ephemeral, unreliable, and ultimately, void.

The "Stressflation" felt by the public is the psychological fallout of this sign-failure. This theoretical lens provides the only coherent explanation for the emergence of the "value now" consumer. As defined by recent analysis, the "value now" consumer is one who, "to cope with feeling relatively downbeat about the economy," is "optimizing their purchases, spending money in ways they think yield the greatest value, and ascribing value to purchases in new ways".

This behavior, which appears "incongruous" to traditional economists—splurging on high-value services while economizing on staples—is a perfectly rational response in a Baudrillardian framework. When the abstract sign (money) fails, the consumer's behavior ceases to be predictable by abstract models. The consumer begins a frantic, almost desperate search for tangible value. They are "not just chasing low prices". They are, as other analyses suggest, seeking "genuine value," "empathy," and "agility" from brands. They want to "buy into" a brand's story and values, not just "buy from" it. This aligns with the principles of deriving "Value Beyond Price." This "value now" consumer is testing the system, oscillating between "trade-offs and splurges" in an attempt to find something real in a world of failing abstractions. Their pessimism is not irrational; it is the rational response of one who has lost faith in the monetary sign that organizes their world.

The Failure of the Concrete: A Crisis of Mass-Market Trust

The crisis of the abstract sign is mirrored by an equally potent crisis in the material world. The pervasive anxiety about inflation is not a separate phenomenon from the recent cluster of high-profile product recalls; it is its cognate. As faith in ephemeral monetary policy collapses, so too does faith in the ephemeral, mass-produced objects that this policy underpins. The 2025 recall cluster—spanning cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food—is a single, unified cultural event. It serves as the material proof that the mass-market systems of disposability, which defined the last 50 years of consumerism, are not just inefficient; they are actively failing and inherently untrustworthy. These are not mere industrial accidents; they are symbolic breaches of core capitalist promises.

The Trivial and the Vital: A Triad of Symbolic Failure

The cultural power of the 2025 recalls lies in their symbolic breadth. This triptych of failures managed to strike three different, core pillars of mass-market trust simultaneously: the promise of sterile convenience, the promise of vital efficacy, and the promise of industrial safety.

1. The Cosmetic Breach (The Failure of Sterile Disposability) The first failure is in the realm of trivial convenience. Kenvue Brands initiated a recall of its iconic Neutrogena Makeup Remover Ultra-Soft Cleansing Towelettes. These towelettes, a top-rated item on Amazon with over 113,000 reviews , are the very emblem of sterile, disposable convenience. The failure was the discovery of bacterial contamination with Pluralibacter gergoviae. The symbolic meaning of this failure, however, is far more significant than the recall's classification as a "Class II health risk". The critical fact is that P. gergoviae is "a type of bacteria resistant to preservatives in many personal care products". This is the crucial point. The very system of chemical preservation designed to ensure the product's sterile, ephemeral promise has been defeated. The failure is not an isolated contamination; it is a systemic failure of the product's core premise. The object, designed to be ephemerally clean, is revealed to be durably, stubbornly contaminated.

2. The Systemic Contagion (The Failure of Vital Trust) The second failure moves from the trivial to the vital, representing the most terrifying breach. This was the massive, nationwide recall of Atorvastatin Calcium tablets, the generic version of Lipitor. This is not a niche product; it is a statin "used by nearly half of seniors" and "around 47 million Americans". The failure was not an external contaminant, but a functional void. The recall, affecting over 141,984 bottles, was issued because the pills "failed to meet dissolution specifications". In simple terms, they "may not dissolve as expected and thus may not be properly absorbed". This is the creation of a placebo. It is a simulation of a drug. The consumer, often elderly and vulnerable, receives an object that has the perfect form of medicine—the pressed pill—but is void of its function. This is a purely Baudrillardian object, where the sign (the pill) has been fatally decoupled from its signified (the chemical function). This Class II recall represents the catastrophic failure of trust in the most foundational mass-market system: pharmaceuticals.

3. The Industrial Intrusion (The Failure of Safe Production) The third failure completes the triptych, revealing the brutal reality of the industrial process itself. This was the recall of more than 2.2 million pounds of Golden Island Korean Barbecue Pork Jerky, sold at mass-market warehouses like Costco and Sam's Club. The failure was the discovery of "pieces of wiry metal" in the ready-to-eat product. The source of the metal was identified as a "conveyor belt" used in production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) classified this as a "Class I recall," its "most serious category, indicating a reasonable probability that eating the product could cause serious health consequences". The symbolic meaning is stark and violent: the literal means of production has intruded into the final consumable. The anonymous, alienating, and dangerous reality of the factory—which is meant to be hidden behind a pastoral, "Golden Island" facade—has broken through and is now being consumed.

This triad of symbolic failures demonstrates the collapse of mass-market trust. The Neutrogena Makeup Wipes recall , a Class II health risk , represents the Failure of Sterile Disposability; the discovery of Pluralibacter gergoviae proves the product's core premise of hygiene is void, as the bacteria is resistant to the very preservatives meant to ensure it. The recall of over 141,984 bottles of Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets represents the Failure of Vital Trust; the pills "failed to meet dissolution specifications" , effectively becoming a simulation of medicine for the "nearly half of seniors" who rely on them. Finally, the Class I recall of over 2.2 million pounds of Golden Island Pork Jerky due to "pieces of wiry metal" represents the Failure of Industrial Safety, a violent intrusion of the production process itself into the final good.

The Ideology of the Trash Heap: Disposability Culture and Planned Obsolescence

This triad of failure is not a coincidence. These recalls are not accidents in an otherwise healthy system; they are the inevitable, acute symptoms of a system built on an ideology of ephemerality. This is the "Disposability Culture," which sociological critiques define as a "manifestation of late capitalism". This culture, which "normalizes disposable consumption patterns" , is criticized by sociologists for its role in "perpetuating consumerism, social stratification, and the erosion of community bonds".

The engine of this Disposability Culture is "Planned Obsolescence." This is the explicit business strategy of "policies planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life... so that it becomes obsolete after a certain predetermined period of time". The goal is to "force people to purchase functional replacements" and "generate long-term sales volume".

The "Disposability Culture" made literal. The system of planned obsolescence, designed to "generate long-term sales volume," is driven by a simple, relentless command: "Buy More Stuff."

The 2025 recalls are the moments where this designed-in failure becomes public and dangerous. A system that prioritizes speed, cost-cutting, and "intentional inefficiency" over quality, safety, and durability will necessarily produce failures. The P. gergoviae resistant to preservatives , the pill that fails to dissolve , the metal from the conveyor belt —these are the direct, material consequences of an economic model that incentivizes disposability and externalizes costs.

This brings the argument full circle, connecting the failure of goods (Part II) directly to the failure of money (Part I). A critical academic analysis provides the lynchpin that solidifies the entire thesis, explicitly linking inflation, planned obsolescence, and the resulting erosion of trust. The analysis states: "Given the general trend of price increases of new models due to inflation and the implementation of newer technology, not everyone can afford this. Planned obsolescence, therefore, puts greater financial pressure on those with lower income... Furthermore, due to the planned obsolescence practice, consumers' trust in the market can be eroded as a result of dissatisfaction with the low quality and limited lifespans of products.".

This is the dual crisis. The two heads of the dragon are attacking in concert. Inflation (Part I) raises the price of replacement goods, while planned obsolescence (Part II) accelerates the need for those replacements. The consumer is trapped in an untenable cycle of accelerating financial pressure for progressively lower-quality goods. This, as the evidence concludes, has resulted in a rational and profound "erosion of consumers' trust" in the entire mass-market system.

The Vacuum and the Antidote: Post-Luxury and the Creed of Permanence

The convergence of these two crises—the failure of abstract value (inflation) and the failure of concrete goods (recalls)—has created a profound cultural vacuum. The foundational promises of 50 years of mass-market consumerism have been broken. This vacuum, defined by "Stressflation" and an "erosion of consumers' trust" , is now being filled by a powerful counter-ideology. This antidote is the "Creed of Permanence," a new consumer value system that actively rejects the ephemeral. This creed is visibly and empirically expressed through the explosive growth of the secondhand luxury market, as consumers pivot from seeking value (a low price) to seeking values (durability, narrative, and tangible assets).

Rejecting the Ephemeral: The Rise of the "Post-Luxury" Consumer

The protagonist of this new cultural narrative is the "Post-Luxury" consumer. This consumer is not the traditional aspirational buyer of new luxury. Instead, this individual is defined by a "decline of the income-upgrade phenomenon". They are "harder to impress" and, crucially, "no longer feel the need to consistently upgrade into luxury products as their income and wealth rises". This marks a shift away from the dynamics described in "Art Basel's Spectacle."

This rejection of the "new" is a direct, conscious response to the failures of the mass market. The "Post-Luxury" consumer is the individual who has experienced the "Stressflation" of Part I and the material betrayals of Part II. They are now consciously opting out of the disposable system.

This pivot is centered on a critical distinction: the search is not for value (a lower price) but for values. Sociological analyses of consumer behavior identify this shift, where "values are cultural in nature" and consumers are "stressing 'values over value'". Having been failed by a system that provides neither financial stability nor trustworthy goods, the consumer is seeking a "new form of cultural value". This new value is based on "empathy" , authenticity, and a connection to something real—precisely because the old forms of value have been exposed as hollow.

Defining the "Creed of Permanence"

This new value system can be formally defined as the "Creed of Permanence." It is the direct antithesis of the "Disposability Culture" and the "ephemeralism" of late-stage capitalism. The Creed of Permanence is a consumer value system, born from the anxiety of systemic failure, that actively seeks to acquire objects embodying enduring stability.

This creed is built upon four core tenets, each standing in direct opposition to the failures of the mass-market:

1. Durability and Quality: This is a direct rejection of "Planned Obsolescence". The consumer now actively links "sustainability to quality" and "durability". The object is valued not for its newness, but for its material capacity to endure.

2. Provenance and Narrative: This is a direct rejection of the anonymous, untrustworthy mass-produced object (like the non-dissolving Atorvastatin pill or the metal-filled jerky ). The consumer now demands "history," "heritage," and "attachment to tradition". This "provenance" provides a "symbolic value" and an "aura of uniqueness," which are now "highly valued by consumers". This resonates with the value system of "Post-Luxury Conceptual Functional Art."

3. Sustainable Circularity: This is a rejection of the linear "take-make-dispose" economy. The consumer actively participates in the circular economy through the "Secondary Luxury Market (SLM)". This is framed as a conscious embrace of "sustainable luxury".

4. Tangible Asset Value: This is a direct rejection of ephemeral monetary value (the crisis of Part I). This creed reframes the object itself as a stable investment, a tangible store of value in an unstable world.

Proof of Thesis: The Secondhand Luxury Boom as Financial and Cultural Hedge

The secondhand luxury market is the definitive empirical proof that the Creed of Permanence has taken hold. This market is not a niche trend; it is "growing three times faster than the firsthand market". Its boom is a direct, rational response to the dual crises of inflation and systemic failure, serving as both a financial and a cultural hedge.

The empirical proof: the secondhand luxury boom. The curated, authenticated environment of a luxury resale boutique is the new destination for the "Post-Luxury" consumer, proving the market's shift from disposable goods to tangible, permanent assets.

1. The "Investment Wardrobe" as Inflation Hedge This section explicitly links the anxiety from Part I (Inflation) to the market behavior of Part III. The secondhand boom is a direct financial hedge against the failure of abstract currency. Analysis of this market has identified the "Financialization of Luxury Fashion," a phenomenon where collectors are turning their closets into "profitable portfolios". This is not a metaphor; it is a literal investment strategy. Research from BCG notes that the "financial uncertainty prompted by the crisis is spurring more buyers... to consider secondhand hard luxury as a promising investment vehicle". These items are desirable as assets because there is "no immediate drop in value as occurs following the purchase of new items". The lynchpin connecting this behavior to the crisis of inflation is explicit: a 2023 Deloitte survey indicated a 39% increase in interest in pre-owned watches "by investors to diversify their portfolio and protect their investments against inflation". This is the proof. The consumer, having lost faith in the abstract asset (money), is reinvesting their capital in tangible assets (luxury goods) that hold value against the very ephemeral system that has failed them.

2. Provenance as the Antidote to the Recalls This section explicitly links the anxiety from Part II (Recalls) to the market behavior of Part III. The obsession with "provenance" and "authentication" in the resale market is the direct cultural antidote to the crisis of mass-market trust. The recalls of 2025 (Part II) proved that mass-market brands are untrustworthy. The Atorvastatin pill looked real but wasn't. This "erosion of consumers' trust" creates a desperate, market-driving need for proof of an object's identity and history. The "Post-Luxury" consumer, therefore, demands "provenance," "history," and "heritage". This is why "brand authentication" is a cornerstone of the secondhand luxury market. The market's growth is contingent on its ability to provide the trust that the mass-market has lost. The most advanced, technological manifestation of this new creed is the development of "Digital Product Passports (DPPs)". A DPP is the technological antithesis of the anonymous, failed Atorvastatin pill or the contaminated Neutrogena wipe. It is a verifiable, blockchain-enabled guarantee of "authenticity, condition, repairs, and ownership changes". It provides the trust, the narrative, and the proof of permanence that the ephemeral mass-market system has irrevocably lost.

This complete cultural shift represents a direct confrontation between two opposing systems. The failing system, "The Crisis of the Ephemeral," is guided by an ideology of Late-Stage Capitalism , Disposability Culture , and a "Throw-Away Society". Its core engine is Planned Obsolescence , and its source of value is abstract, "ephemeral" monetary policy. This system's failures are symbolized abstractly by Inflation—the devaluation of the sign leading to "Stressflation" —and concretely by Recalls, which prove the "low quality and limited lifespans" of goods and create an "erosion of consumers' trust". In this system, the consumer is a victim of anonymous production.

In direct response, the consumer-driven "Creed of Permanence" has emerged. Its guiding ideology is that of "Post-Luxury" , the Circular Economy , and a search for "values over value". Its economic engine is Sustainable Durability and Circularity. Consumers now find value in tangible, durable assets, creating "The Investment Wardrobe". The symbolic response to inflation is Investment, with luxury used as an asset to "protect their investments against inflation". The response to recalls is a demand for Provenance—a "history, heritage, and legend". The consumer relationship is thus transformed: through "Brand Authentication" and "Digital Product Passports" , the consumer is no longer a victim, but a curator, enacting the "stewardship" central to PLCFA.

The New Object of Affection

The analysis has demonstrated that the pervasive public anxiety over inflation and the sudden, symbolic cluster of mass-market recalls are not parallel crises. They are two facets of a single, monumental event: the collapse of the consumerist "Age of Ephemerality." The anxieties of Part I (the failure of abstract money) and Part II (the failure of concrete goods) have converged, trapping the consumer between devaluing currency and untrustworthy products. This has catalyzed the cultural shift of Part III, a mass rejection of the disposable system and the adoption of a new "Creed of Permanence." This shift has fundamentally redefined the "object of affection" for the contemporary consumer. The old object of affection—the new, convenient, disposable, mass-market item—is now a source of profound anxiety. Is it contaminated with bacteria resistant to its own preservatives? Is it a non-functional placebo that simulates a vital drug? Is it embedded with the metal shards of its own industrial creation? Will the abstract money required to buy it be worthless tomorrow?

The new object of affection is, by definition, the antithesis of this. It is the "Post-Luxury" object: pre-owned, authenticated, durable, and rich with narrative. The consumer is no longer seeking the fleeting thrill of the new. They are seeking stability. When a consumer participates in the secondhand luxury market, they are not just buying a bag. They are acquiring a tangible, non-ephemeral asset that hedges against inflation. They are purchasing a verifiable history—a "provenance" soon to be guaranteed by a "Digital Product Passports" —that stands in defiant opposition to the anonymous, failed promises of the mass-market system.

This is an act of "Sentimental Preservation" in the face of a "Disposability Culture". The consumer is rejecting the role of victim in a system of planned failure and is re-asserting control by becoming a curator, investor, and historian. This search for permanence is the defining consumer narrative of our time, validating the core principles of "Post-Luxury Conceptual Functional Art."