Independent designers are getting ripped off by fast-fashion brands and the influencers promoting them — and the planet is paying the price.
What’s happening?
The New York Post reported how fashion designer Marcelo Gaia has had dozens of his original creations reproduced by several brands without his consent.
According to The Post, Gaia, the founder of high-end brand Mirror Palais, claimed that fast-fashion brands are copying his designs and selling them cheaply on TikTok Shop, Amazon, and other platforms.
“Because I designed this little set, 10,000 plus of them have been made, but I didn’t consent to that,” Gaia told The Post.
With fake versions of creations flooding the market, the high-end designs lose their appeal, and the brand loses value.
Gaia also expressed his frustration about influencers who promote these knockoffs and earn commissions from sales.
Why is this issue concerning?
Gaia is not the only one being targeted. Many other independent fashion designers are falling victim to companies that exploit loose protections on fashion design to create cheap and low-quality knock-offs.
These cheap dupes are spreading quickly as shoppers become more price sensitive, as revealed by the McKinsey State of Fashion 2025 report.
However, they’re costly for shoppers in the long run. Cheaply made garments wear out quickly, forcing consumers to constantly replace them.
The fast-fashion model also fuels overproduction and overconsumption — a system that pollutes air, water, and land on a massive scale.
Its impact on the environment is detrimental. According to the Global Fashion Agenda, heat-trapping gases from the fashion industry could rise to 2.7 billion tons by 2030 unless wasteful production is curbed.
If the mass production of cheap clothing doesn’t slow down, the pollution it generates will contribute to the planet’s overheating, eventually making some places too hot to live in.
What’s being done about the issue?
Legal protections for fashion designers remain weak. Complex global supply chains make it difficult to enforce copyrights and other laws. While Shein and TikTok Shop claim to remove counterfeits when flagged, this does little to address the problem.
As for the environmental impact of fast fashion, global organizations continue to raise awareness about the issue.
For instance, the International Day of Zero Waste focused on finding solutions to the growing waste in the fashion and textile industries.
Individuals who steer clear of fast fashion also contribute to addressing the problem. When they support eco-friendly brands and invest in original designers, they help build a more responsible fashion industry.
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