I remember as a child seeing my grandmother using cast iron cookware, so cast iron cookware has been available for many years, and it is still very popular today. 

I get tired of buying new, and expensive, cookware only to have the pieces become scratched or damaged a short time later and have to be replaced.  That is one advantage of using cast iron. It can last a lifetime and beyond, which also makes it a very environmentally friendly choice, which is important to me as well. 

There are many different varieties of cast iron cookware available these days, but it still brings a bit of nostalgia for me and binds me to an earlier time when people were taking pride in cooking good meals using quality cookware as we can today.