Shoes today are garbage that wears through within half a year; consumers are accepting it and coming back for more.

I wonder how much of the "shoes used to last longer" thing is down to individuals getting older and heavier over time. Also time perception changes with age. It's probably still true, though.

As much as it pains me to toss shoes every year, I much prefer the light, flexible construction of disposable shoes to the heavy rigidity of made-to-last ones.

Depends, not everyone buys on street bazaar, and usually most that put up with low quality is because they sadly cannot afford any better.

Half of a year is getting awfully close to the timeline of a many return policies, and most people do like saving money. Just saying...