You Guys, We're Getting Duped
If you were online in late 2022, you are probably aware of the discourse surrounding fast fashion giant Shein. Spurred by an article in The Cut, people quickly started to share their shock at the abysmal factory conditions. This reaction confused me—haven’t we already known that Shein is one of the worst offenders in fast fashion (see: literal lead in their products)? Why are we, as a society, still supporting companies that harm people and the environment at such a large scale?
While there are numerous (intertwined, complicated, and dynamic) reasons behind fast fashion’s popularity, I’ve been really interested in one in particular: the fact that quality no longer correlates to price in the fashion industry. People can’t trust that they will get their money’s worth out of a product—so why spend more?
It’s no secret that the quality of clothing (and pretty much everything) has declined in the last decade or so. Yet it still costs the same (or more). “Your stuff is actually worse now” in Vox names a few reasons for this. Namely, that people own more clothing than ever before in history, the trend cycle is increasingly getting shorter, and social media blatantly promotes over-consumption. As a reaction, companies have shortened their design and testing cycles and moved manufacturing overseas to cut costs and get products on racks before the trend dies. Petroleum-based synthetic fabrics are cheaper to produce, yet “they fall apart easier and don’t entirely decompose as well as natural material.” But, as the Vox article explains, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: the cheaper the goods are, the more often they’ll need to be replaced, and the less customers are willing to pay. And so the cycle churns.
Most of my peers and I aren’t looking for the cheapest pieces of clothing possible, despite what brands and manufacturers purport. We want to buy something that will last, we want to shop ethically, we want to develop our personal style, and we understand when prices are “too good to be true.” The tricky part is that brands know this. And they deliberately exploit it.
The first way of many is through legacy. When you’re buying a Chanel bag, you’re not really paying for the quality, but the name. The bag satisfied the threshold for quality a few thousand dollars back. “Even when a product is made better and will last longer, it may not last so long that it’s the better buy for you,” @prettycritical on TikTok explains in this video. And even if a brand’s legacy is connected to its quality, it has no requirement to uphold it. Such is the case with smaller cult brands who expand so quickly that they are no longer authentic to their mission—like Nasty Gal. The only attribute that still exists of the former Ebay store is the name.
Another way that companies exploit our desire for quality is through marketing. Brands directly pander to well-seeking consumers through their messaging or an inspirational founder’s story that postures the brand as a small business and conveniently omits investor involvement. The word “recyclable” means nothing—especially when it’s referring to plastic packaging, as most plastics are not actually being recycled from your curbside bin. But it sounds nice and sustainable, doesn’t it? Brands shell out millions to align themselves as “elevated” or “luxury” yet rarely take it past the point of purchase. Once the item is in your hands, you feel scammed and stupid.
People online have been sharing similar experiences in the past few months. The “de-influencing” and “things that are too cheap to be this expensive” trends change the typical narrative by showcasing items that creators regret buying. Brands are being called out for their crappy quality and high prices (see: this particularly egregious example of a $300+ dress). Average people don’t have money to waste, and every expensive “luxury” item that arrives wrapped in clear plastic with a warehouse sticker is an offense to be taken personally.
The rise of dupes (a word, by the way, that means both “duplicate” and “to trick”) is a direct result of the diminishing correlation between quality and price. Dupes both undermine the artistry and reveal the true value of their originals. By distilling a product to its most popular points, dupes intrinsically seek progression—and exploitation. A makeup or household item that’s cheaper yet completely identical to its original makes you wonder what percentage of the original’s purchase price goes straight to investors’ pockets. But plagiarizing or ripping off a design is the more common form of duping in the fashion industry. The junior’s section of Target today looks like Lisa Says Gah did in 2020. It’s all bright colors, checkerboard print, and spirals, reminiscent enough that someone who knew the original pieces would recognize it, but anyone that didn’t would know. The quality of the original Paloma Wool and House of Sunny pieces is probably higher—but those that don’t have the money to prove it will inevitably stick to the cheaper option. Although the quality is worse, at least it’s consistently worse. No surprises.
Brands wanting to gain their customers' trust will need to focus on reliability and transparency—despite it often being antithetical to the exponential growth that investors seek. Authenticity has always and will always be a marker of trustworthiness. There’s no sure-fire way to tell if something is authentic; it’s a feeling. And once that authenticity has been exploited for profit, it has an incredibly small window until it’s stamped out and gone forever.
So, until brands decide that they want our trust, not just our money, we will have to put in the work ourselves. Look at the fabric contents of the clothes you buy. Shop secondhand (which also reveals the true valuation of an item) and fix things that can be fixed. Before I buy something new, I try to imagine what it would look like on my body, in my closet, mixed in the pile of half-clean clothes on my bedroom floor. I try to decide if it’s worth it.
This essay was inspired by the Binchtopia podcast. If you haven’t listened yet, I highly recommend!!
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