Can someone explain the appeal of expensive Hermès bags to me

[KellyK2026]

I don’t know how, but I recently got sucked into watching a bunch of Love Luxury videos on YouTube which features rich people buying expensive Hermes bags. Can someone please explain the obsession with Hermes bags? To me, they look very basic or just plain ugly. I cannot fathom why someone would pay £20,000-200k on a bag which costs a fraction of that price to produce and was mostly made in China. I’d rather get a good quality bag which has been handcrafted locally for £200 or less. Someone please explain it to me?!

I’m with you. There’s a girl on tik tok called becca bloom and some of the things she buys are ridiculous. Who needs 1000 different van cleef rings??

I get it, I just don't agree with you, which seems to be a really difficult concept for you to grasp across your responses on this thread.

Yes, most people do need a car – but you don't need a car from a manufacturer that produces ethically dubious lines. Other cars are available.

Most people need a bag – but you don't need a bag from a manufacturer that produces ethically dubious lines. Other bags are available.

People need food – but they don't need food from manufacturers that produce ethically dubious lines. Other foods are available.

So, why question stands – why single out Hermes?

Right, right – because you don't think they are worth the money and you think it's status signalling. Yet when you challenged on that point with the comparison to other luxury items of similar value but not luxury fashion, you go back to ethical controversy – and thus we are stuck in a never-ending loop.

As many food consumers are aware of the ethical controversy of palm oil as luxury brand consumers are aware of the ethical controversy around exotic leather production – even more I would wager. Greenpeace's Ran-Tan campaign starring Emma Thompson? Chester Zoo sustainability campaign? WWF? David Attenborough?

Exotic leathers actually make up less than 4% of their handbags alone – let alone when you account for their entire clothing, jewellery and shoe lines. Not in your face whatsoever.

Temper temper.

Just to be clear, it takes two crocodile skins to make a Hermes bag. Buying a Kitkat is not the equivalent of killing two exotic animals.

There’s been plenty of people on this Thread that have said it’s a waste of money, it’s a status symbol, etc. There’s been a handful of Hermes supporters who keep repeatedly commenting the same arguments but still cannot break down how the bags are worth the cost. I think that says a lot.

It's not worth it to you.

Other people feel differently - I'm not one of them because Hermès bags aren't my style, but I wouldn't presume to lecture someone or claim that I knew better than them when it came to their personal choices.

I’ve been laughing this entire time

I don’t really know why you’re arguing with me as I have said repeatedly that it’s not worth it to me but clearly I know others buy their products otherwise I wouldn’t have posted. So this is a mute point.

I'm stunned at your comments about Nestle. Awareness of the brand is huge. Have you every visited or lived in low-income countries? Nestle is a global brand that has marketed formula aggressively in these countries - do you have any idea of the impact of that?

I’m stunned by your lack of economic awareness. Do you think your average Brit knows about Nestle? To know about Nestle presumes that they have read news articles or gone out of their way to look it up. It isn’t advertised next to their products.

This Nestle argument is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a long time. It’s had me and my friends in stitches.

Moot.

I'm not arguing, just pointing out that value is entirely subjective. I don't like musical theatre and wouldn't pay £200+ for a ticket to see a West End show, but lots of people do and the cost is worth it to them and that is none of my business.

Therefore what I also don't do is stand outside the theatre spaffing on at the queue about how it's a massive waste of money that could have bought twenty cinema tickets, because a) they're not interested and b) that would be insane.

It's very sad that you find the lives of people living in poverty in low-income countries so amusing.

In the amount of time it’s taken to go back and forth to try and get an answer, me and my friends looked it up. Hermes spends, on average, between $800 and $1400 to make a bag. This is only 15-20% of their retail price. That’s a huge mark up. So even the materials and man power to make it aren’t worth it in terms of quality and craftsmanship. So the only reasonable explanation is status symbol. Which is fine, but then people need to own that and also realise that a lot of people will find that ridiculous.

What are you on? Now you’re just imagining arguments.

Well, worth is described in value – that's both market-led and by individual consumer. People have described to you why Hermes bags are priced as they are – and also that it's no different in pricing for other luxury brands, high end items or even the mark up on mass-produced consumer goods.

If you really want to get into a discussion on the degree of harm inflicted by crocodile farming and KitKat production, let's go for it, because you seem to be confused on what 'equivalent' means. Palm oil is produced on million of hectares, with global demand driving large-scale land conversion. Palm oil expansion had contributed to deforestation and the loss of habitats (and deaths) of a huge array of species. Clearing peatlands and forests releases significant greenhouse gases. Palm oil production has been associated with labour abuses. More than 5 billion KitKats are consumed each year. Nestle alone purchases 450,000 tonnes of palm oil a year for KitKats. By total environmental and societal standards, I think all would agree that is has a pretty staggering worldwide impact.

But OK – it's just a KitKat, and it's OK if you buy just one little KitKat, because people 'need food'.

A matter of personal taste, but if I were going to spend a fortune on a bag, it wouldn't be a Hermes one.

What we want is a balanced, evidence-based discussion of the ethics of all brands which includes the welfare of animals and humans but you've repeatedly shied away from this for some reason.

Again, going around in circles. You can’t blame a working class mother for buying a bloody Kitkat when 1. It’s a cheap food source, 2. Nestle don’t exactly shout about their environmental impact, 3. No, most people don’t know about Nestle’s impact believe it or not, and 4. You’re presuming that everyone knows about environmental impact and what that means. Your blaming other people saying ‘well, they buy kitkats therefore it’s fine to support a brand that routinely farms and kills exotic animals to make premium handbags and shouts about it and I know about it’ and it’s not the same thing.

The issues with Nestle are well known globally. I can assure you of that.

Have you done a survey on national awareness of palm oil impacts? I'll be interested to hear your evidence on that. Yes, I do think the average British consumer has some degree of awareness of palm oil impact. We'll have to agree to disagree on that – unless it's just you and your friends who don't?

Nestle actually is very transparent about its palm oil sourcing, citing traceability and sustainability. Hermes is also transparent on its sourcing and animal welfare policies surrounding its leather goods production. Both practices are, at the end of the day, legal. How one impact compares, ethically, to the other, is, as we've seen, up for some debate. And that debate certainly doesn't end with 'I don't think Brits are aware of this' or 'my friends found this funny'.

Interesting also you've zeroed in on KitKats and the working class, when I gave numerous other consumer manufacturers with chequered ethical practices, of all price brackets, up to circa £40k.

But it seems like there's a lot of selective hearing at play.

And nowhere did I say it's 'OK to purchase an exotic leather bag because people buy KitKats', so do not poorly paraphrase that I did.

What I did ask on where the ethical debate line ends when compared to many mass-producers of ethically dubious product lines – this ranged from Nestle to Apple to Toyota to Nike to Mcdonalds ... that's not even going into the brands who give zero transparency on their product lines and environmental impact.

What I did say was that every purchase has a footprint.

The use of 'exotic' animal skins boosts the exclusivity and therefore the desirability and sale price.
At one time, many years ago, they were even producing elephant leather bags.
Their ethics are questionable at best.

Jesus! Really?! That’s dreadful.

Personally I shop ethically. There are some products where, as you said, systems make it hard to live completely ethically. I drive a car but cycle whenever I can to reduce my carbon footprint. I can acknowledge, however, that I am in a privileged position and I have knowledge and awareness that others may not have. Yes, I work with charities and vulnerable people. A lot of adults I work with have the literacy age of a seven year old (this isn’t speculation, by the way, this is fact). These are the people living in poverty and eating poor quality food. I’ve even spoken to parents who will intentionally buy high calorie food to fill up their children, regardless of the health implications. This is not their fault. They live in a world where bad food is often the cheapest. Education on nutrition and, yes, environmental impact, is limited. They do not have the same buying power and knowledge that is available to the average person who can afford to buy a Hermes bag. So you can compare Nestle and Hermes but their average customer base looks very different. My question to anyone who has the knowledge and buying power, why a company that is so unethical when you can spend your money on a more ethical brand that doesn’t use exotic skins?

Known globally by who? I work in deprived communities. If I went in there and asked what environmental impact do to think Nestle has, I can guarantee you the answers would be very vague. Mumsnet isn’t the general population. The audience on this site are primarily white middle class women. Take a look around at the world for god sake. Go to the most deprived ward in your area and sit in a community centre and ask people what they think of Nestle. I think you’ll find it an eye opener.

Then you make the Thread if that’s what you want. Honestly, the audacity to go on someone else’s thread and demand they make another one is ridiculous but then again shouldn’t surprise me from someone who also has the audacity to think that killing two exotic animals to make a handbag is acceptable.