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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

About supermarkets using the designs of others

45 replies

diabolicaldevil · 17/03/2018 08:36

I have seen on Instagram that there's a campaign to make a major supermarket stop using the design of a "small brand"

I really feel for these brands but they're charging £36 for a jumper for a 3 year old and I feel like where people can buy the cheaper option then there will always be a market for it.

Let me be clear though, I don't think it's right to use the designs of other companies and not compensate them for doing so I just think that these "small brands" as they're always referred to on social media are pricing themselves way beyond what many people can afford

OP posts:

Lallypopstick · 17/03/2018 08:40

I'm aware of the brand you're referring to. I had a look on their website thinking "oh maybe I'll support them" but the prices are high. I do agree that the supermarket shouldnt have used something with a copyright though and hope the designer wins (though the phrase is a bit naff too tbh).

Maybe there's a wider issue about how much we're prepared to pay for clothes nowadays with fast fashion and sweatshops. But baby clothes only last a few months so very few people can afford to pay over the odds for them.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 08:43

these "small brands" as they're always referred to on social media are pricing themselves way beyond what many people can afford

what a ridiculous argument. I assume you are not asking your boss for more than the minimum wage, because otherwise it wouldn't be fair?
Small brands won't have discounts for ordering huge quantity, they have staff to pay, their work and material used have a cost.

No, it doesn't give the right to anyone to rip their designs off, and sell them cheaply, disregarding all the hours and skills it took them to come up with the original design in the first place.

I hate this race to the bottom, not being able to afford something doesn't mean you are entitled to get if for free or next to nothing.

LadyLoveYourWhat · 17/03/2018 08:44

Big brands can afford lower price marks because they sell more and outsource production to countries where they can pay people pennies. £36 is actually pretty reasonable given the costs of a materials and the living wage hourly rate. Nobody "needs" a particular design of jumper, if you can't afford it, do without instead of driving a small brand out of business

Original poster

diabolicaldevil · 17/03/2018 08:44

I was exactly the same!

I went on to their website to consider buying a jumper for my own 3 year old but £36 for something that won't fit him in a few months time seems like madness. I'm also not convinced by the "hand me down" arguement as some of the most expensive clothes I've bought for DC have been the ones to fall apart in the wash and such like 🙄

OP posts:

PNGirl · 17/03/2018 08:48

YABU. The fault lies with the supermarkets and Primark and New Look (ha) having jumpers made in Bangladesh for pennies en masse. There is a reason hand-knitted jumpers aren't 20 quid.

Also, there is plenty of market for pricier, better-made clothing. Even for children. Just because it's not you doesn't mean it shouldn't exist or should be destroyed by big companies.

Original poster

diabolicaldevil · 17/03/2018 08:48

I hate this race to the bottom, not being able to afford something doesn't mean you are entitled to get if for free or next to nothing.

That's your interpretation..

My DH and I earn good money and can afford it but still think £36 for a jumper is excessive for a 3 year old. I don't think we should get it for free but what I am saying is that MANY will not be able to afford it and will buy the cheaper option, naturally.

OP posts:

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 08:50

It's completely irrelevant, but £36 is hardly luxury, and every family has a different view on price range. Even if the jumper cost £3600, it doesn't give anyone the right to steal the design.

CanIGoToBedNow · 17/03/2018 08:56

Price is irrelevant The supermarket ripped off a trademarked design.

Can you imagine if it were the other way around and the small brand ignored the protests of the supermarket.

I will no longer be shopping in that supermarket.... maybe that’s a way to support the small brand without paying £36 for a jumper.

ChasedByBees · 17/03/2018 08:58

I don’t know the case you’re referring to so I’m speaking in hypotheticals.

If you think about the time it took to design that and then how many units that smaller brand can feasibly sell and divide the design time across those products, £36 is a very reasonable cost.

Just because you feel it’s above what you’re willing to pay doesn’t mean the product isn’t worth that. It’s possible that is the minimum cost to be viable.

Babyplaymat · 17/03/2018 09:01

There is no ethical high ground to be taken when you are ripping off someone else's idea. No one has an inherent right to something, if it is above your price point you don't buy it, encouraging someone else ( a supermarket etc) to rip it off because the smaller maker "charges too much" is shitty.

Bumblesnout · 17/03/2018 09:04

I know lots of people who would and have spent £36 on a sweatshirt for a child and yes they do buy from this particular small brand.

This particular brand has an idea behind it and when you buy from them you are contributing towards something bigger. Unlike the supermarket who are selling this particular slogan for peanuts just because they can.

Price wise, yes they are expensive but that doesn't mean it's ok for big businesses to rip off smaller brands. I have nothing but sympathy for smaller brands who have their ideas and designs ripped off by huge businesses.

There is no justification for the supermarket ripping off the small brand.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 09:07

I really want to know what this thread is about now!

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 09:10

Ripping off design is unacceptable full stop.
You could argue that stealing the design from a £36 jumper is worst than stealing the one of a £3000 jumper: the luxury one has a different customer base, use different fabric, so there might be less impact - even if it will put people off if they see a cheap high street version.

People buying a £36 jumper will just as well buy a £10 one, I am sure it is a lot more damaging to the brand.

MonsteraDeliciosa · 17/03/2018 09:10

Why can't the names of the companies be mentioned?

Luckingfovely · 17/03/2018 09:10

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/asda-scamp-and-dude-slogan-rip-off-accusation-trademark-childrenswear-a8223471.html%3famp

OP you are completely and utterly unreasonable.

Price has nothing to do with it. If you don't want to buy from Scamp and Dude, don't.

But nothing gives a massive retailer the right to steal an independent designer's own creations.

Ridiculous to conflate the issues, and morally indefensible.

Babyplaymat · 17/03/2018 09:14

To be honest, the Asda one looks cheap and nasty, and bar the slogan I wouldn't see any connection between them.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 09:17

thank you for the link.

It's not a carbon copy, but as it's ripping off the entire concept of the brand, it's not right. Asda has it very wrong here.

soulrider · 17/03/2018 09:22

From that example given, they've not stolen the design. If they've used a trademarked slogan then that's the issue - although I'm surprised that the slogan could be trademarked as it's fairly generic.

SavoyCabbage · 17/03/2018 09:23

How much is the Asda one?

Putting the thunderbolt on the Asda one makes it so, so much worse.

Her stuff is lovely. I probably wouldn't have paid £36 for a jumper when they were three but I would when they were older. The Asda one is awful.

thornyhousewife · 17/03/2018 09:24

I have some experience in this, I'm an illustrator and a collection I created for an independent children's wear label was copied by H&M.

It's painful for about five minutes, but design copywrite is a grey area. The reality is it takes a really long time from concept to production so I'd already moved on project wise a long time ago.

With Scamp and Dude there is a sentimental element though, as the concept was created in response to the designer becoming ill and worried about their children. This is their entire USP and so any copying has a much bigger impact on their business overall.

I'm sure they'll be fine as they have very loyal fans (and their price point is correct imo). They will hopefully ride this wave of free PR and use it to launch, critically, NEW designs.

GaryBaldyBiscuit · 17/03/2018 09:33

I think it's in very poor taste when bigger companies do this. I can't afford scamp and dude clothes and I do buy from supermarkets but I also think independent businesses should be supported and encouraged. I can't give them my money but I can refuse to buy designs that are rip offs.

duckling84 · 17/03/2018 09:34

The two offending articles.
As much as I agree that Asda should not use a trademarked phrase, I dispise the idea that words can be trademarked (pretty sure the English language is open to everyone to use) and they don't even look remotely similar.

About supermarkets using the designs of others

Loraline · 17/03/2018 09:43

It's not the design that's trademarked so the fact that they don't look similar is irrelevant. The slogan is trademarked so Asda shouldn't have used it. You can't use 'Just do It' or other big brand slogans so why should you do it to small brands.

Scamp and Dude's slogan has a particular backstory which makes it doubly upsetting for the founder but it's also linked.to the charitable side of her business and the superhero toys they give to ill children or those who've lost a parent etc. It's piss poor from Asda.

Also, for the record, the clothes are really good quality and wash and wear well. And the adult sweatshirts are lovely. I live in mine!

JacksGirl123 · 17/03/2018 09:45

They haven't ripped off a design, the S and D people say they've copied a slogan. A slogan that didn't take hours of design and skill to come up with and one I've heard several times without knowing who S and D are till today.

You can trademark a slogan it seems but I'm not sure that means you're the one that came up with it or that no-one else will ever think it.

Plenty of people seem to think lots of things started on MN (fanjo, wankbadger etc) and didn't.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 09:54

A slogan that didn't take hours of design and skill to come up with

bitchy much? It's the entire concept of the brand!

At least it's a lot of publicity for a small business, I bet they will make quite a few sales thanks to it. I've already shared the name to my friends, it's quite a good one.

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