Here for this!💗

yes! definitely!

That's why I try to support companies that are certified B Corps. While not everyone with good practices is certified, everyone that is certified has good practices so it's a great place to start.

I cannot agree with this comment more!

I do support this argument but there are people in society whom can not afford the ethical pricing of such clothing items. The only thing their mental state can be worried about is: "What am I going to be able to cook for my family tonight?" Edit: So they are more likely to opt for a tee that is priced for 2 dollars at H&M.

Very true, and for me being able to eat out or get take out when I’m having a really busy or stressful day is a huge privilege which I am so thankful for.

This is such a huge place were people can save or spend money. I think people who have enough income to eat out more than very occasionally really underestimate this expense and it's such an easy one to let creep up on you-as many people advance in their careers they just start eating out more often and at more expensive restaurants and barely even think about it. The convenience of being able to just order food when you're busy and not worry about the cost, or to just say yes to a dinner date with a friend instead of trying to negotiate into a free activity is just so immense-probably one of the biggest luxuries that exist IMO.

Now that you said this, I realise Cristine's statement comes from a shallow observation of society. Some people have to work long crazy hours and get very little rest in between, going home, needing to feed yourself and making time to clean up after yourself when you're already tired, depressed (or suffering from clinical depression), and add on top of that doing house chores (e.g. laundry, house repairs), which they all have to muster the physical and mental energy to be able to do in the first place. In this day and age, it's hard to enjoy your life while sticking to a low paying job which doesn't give you much free time to take up hobbies because you have to work an extra job to even be able to afford to pay your rent while still even making sure you can rest properly, which is pretty hard to achieve with only a 9 hours left only for sleep, before you have to repeat your schedule the next day. A fancy meal might even be what people are "living for" and that's why they go out to eat with friends at fancy places every night. I personally would just go for a fast food option, it still costs more than making food at home for me, but I at least get some sort of sustenance and have enough energy to brush my teeth and take a shower, which are basic things I have trouble maintaining. I'm in Australia, and I'm on welfare, but I don't have a degree, I have a medical problem which basically stops me from doing blue collar work, so I can't be a waitress anymore, which is the ONLY job I can get, because all the reception and entry level jobs are reserved for people with "work experience" in private enterprises, not even in volunteering, so now I'm going back to university and still things haven't changed while studying for my degree. I have PTSD from past stress and trauma from schooling and it's been hell for me. However, I am lucky to have relatives to support me and have a welfare system to help me and my relatives ease the financial burdens I place on them physically and mentally, without that, I'd be a theif, or worse. Thinking how in other countries where people don't even get welfare at all, I understand why people would do splurge a bit. I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want to share with you my perspective as someone who no longer can even get a job in a much more "open" industry. I'm poor and struggle to get out of bed to even be able to care for myself, not even because of a physical condition, but also a mental condition. However that is not to say that there aren't people who are rich and can spend their money carefree on luxuries, but there are also poor people who are raised without the needed finance minded mentality in Australia which drive themselves further into poverty and sometimes disaster strikes and everyone has to work harder, longer and become more sadder and soon, develop depression. My family seem richer than others because while we don't spend it on eating out often, we are able to afford other nice luxuries like a Nintendo switch and some switch games (rather my relatives had some money saved up and wanted to make min and their lives a little more enjoyae) You are right, it is a benefit if wealth to eat out at fancy restaurants carefree, but whether it's a strong indicator of someone's wealth, I would say, there is some truth to that, not the complete story. To me, if someone and their family can eat out regularly, fly to 10 or more different countries for leisure and even do so during times when it's not even holiday season in their home countries (as those are usually during work times of the year where companies don't give breaks) and their parents can even afford to pay the high land tax of their nice home and sleep easy at night before the age of 20 they're well-off, all that even in individual activities costs way more than my switch and my three switch games which in total take up a about a month's standard rent, located in a somewhat shitty place. I think they're rich. They clearly live a good non-drama filled life if all they can do is whinge about their parents talking about going on another trip to New Zealand and they just want to stay at home and get offended when you say they're lucky because you've never been outside the country and just to tell their parents to stop talking to them about going on more trips. I once know this person who posted on Facebook complaining about wanting to stay home instead of going on another trip. I said she was lucky and just to tell her mum she doesn't want to go, she got offended, someone else pointed out that she sounds more like she was bragging than complaining. To give her credit, she did say she did tell her mum she wants to stay at home, but her mum wasn't even nagging her, she was just inviting her to a trip which she can easily decline and just stay at home, and she was complaining about that LOL. She's a nice person, but I'm glad I don't talk to her anymore because she's that type of butt hurt whinger. That's my perspective anyway. I hope what I said is understandable.

I bet Cristine was dreading making the thumbnail 😂

@@marysmith3057 she was😂 she shared it on insta stories

I’m laughing so hard at this comment

That was the first thing I noticed when opening this video. There is a lot of volume happening.

@@saratakkoush6109 I just saw that 😂 the first crop looked like Bart Simpsons hair

This is a super valid point! I think people get annoyed/upset with the “eat the rich” thing when people comment that under someone’s video where it is clear they are middle class and likely they or their parents worked hard to get where they’re at.

What about billionaire property developers I mean the potential exploitation of workers would seem fairly minimal as trades work can be quite highly paid, I’m guessing the more unethical aspect would be pollution and resource usage

Also every single billionaire in the western world (or at least the most popular ones) isn't even an "I started with nothing" person. It's just old money that keep passing along every generation.

@@jaash7981 Hey, it was just a small emerald mine, that's practically nothing 🙄🙄🙄

@@Lee-hq1er withholding housing from people who need it for the sake of a profit is monstrous imo

I’d watch this

Absolutely ready to be amazed by the hydro homie

This must happen.

Yes, the people are waiting lol

Voss might be ranked at the same level as standard price store bought brands.

Yes!!! I was so happy he quoted this hahaha

Whats the reference? I am sorry to say I do not recognize it.

@@yola6855 Arrested Development

A $10 BENana

came here to see if anyone noticed!

i like your pfp

@@lilyflower50099 ty!

She is a leisuring 32YO lady

she's leisuring

Disgusting. Kinda wish I hadn't bought any

Yeah, I remembered this kinda discourse around the brand. I'm too chubby to pander to this nonsense.

Yeahh I knew a girl (a white girl) who was really into it and used to teach yoga classes there and she got a giant tattoo of Ganesh and the cultural appropriation was so f-ckin gross and I feel like they’re all like that. Also the whole idea of naming their products “THE water bottle”like you absolutely need a $30 water bottle

All of this and a side of fries. He supported and sweatshops because he said it would help underprivileged countries. He blamed birth control and women in the workplace for the rise of divorces and breast cancer. I know that sweatshops are very common, but outright saying you use them is crazy. The company also lied about their specialty fabrics, and their response to the investigation was “feel it, it doesn’t feel like cotton”. I think the company still has a stain of him, but their fabric quality has also gone down apparently causing for chafing to be extra common. I know most people don’t know this so I’m glad you’re making people aware, even if it’s abnormal in the athletic clothes world.

Glad this was brought up. A lot of people don't like Lululemon for many reasons, including a lot of ethical ones

DUDEEE SAME. I honestly have watched 0 nailogical and to be honestly don’t actually give a shit about nails. But it is just so nice listening to two adults have an interesting mature but funny conversation ! And love seeing the way they navigate having differing opinions in such a respectful way

Same here!! I never watched her Yt videos. I’m so glad I gave this podcast a chance. They are both so articulate and mature, and even hilarious at times.

I found her channel through the podcast. I see some people in the replies who have never seen a nailogical video because they don't care about nails and i think you should check out some at least, because her videos are more about the humour rather than the nails.

@@SoVidushi I have watched a few but they are too overwhelming for me tbh lol. I prefer this chill setting 😇

@@sarina8045 ooh gotcha, i like the high energy videos because they are a nice change from how low energy i am.

It is jewelers who sold us the idea that diamonds are valuable and a must have for engagements. (That 3 months salary price tag) Diamonds can also be man made. I agree with cristine in that cz is sparklier

I've never understood the statement that gold retains its value, because when I've worked with it (jewelry making and whatnot) it was always important to know what the current rate was...?

A lot of brands in india buy back diamonds, but u should have the card of the particular jewelry via GIA ( it's an authentication for gems etc) . Now a lot of brands also like reusing diamond

@@avniprakash9879 i've heard that, do they give you back the same value (of just the diamond) you paid?

@@micheal2458 like there is always value in gold because countries use it for treasuries. Diamonds aren't linked to money.😊

You can include those who only invest back into the stock market instead of actually "trickling down" into their businesses and employees.

Yes!!! It just isn’t possible to be an ethical billionaire. It necessarily involves exploitation of others and not paying taxes. When we say “eat the rich” we don’t mean the millionaires who worked their asses off and built an ethical, sustainable company that pays their workers fairly (I’m thinking vlogbrothers here).

Yep! That’s why I asked for moissanite :)

My first engagement ring was a blue sapphire. My second was an amethyst. Colored stones will always draw my eye. Oddly enough I have a good number of diamond rings that I inherited and don’t wear. I will pass those on to my kid.

So true! Very little intrinsic value. But gold on the other hand, that’s really the resale value of jewelry.

@@treblemaker33 same!

diamonds are rare though, usually there at y:12

I think that’s a great point-see the podcast where they discuss losing money on knockoff Holo Taco merch.

In general, the purpose of buying a branded t-shirt, or anything alike, is not to showcase the 'artwork' of the logo but rather what the logo means. As Cristine mentioned the purpose of buying that t-shirt is to gain social capital through people knowing that you spent (and can afford to spend) a lot of money on it - hence the logo and aesthetic of the logo in itself is meaningless in this situation. And by that I am in no way trying to classify the work of a graphic designer as meaningless, it is extremely useful for businesses such as coffee shops, tech companies, etc. to have a well-designed, recognizable logo. But selling/buying a t-shirt where the only purpose is to show that you, the consumer, can afford that brand just makes you a walking advertisement. And even worse, they are not even paying you to advertise for them, you are paying them...

I agree that the process of graphic design is definitely creative and artistic, and a logo on its own might be considered art (though that is subjective), but I feel like as soon as you start mass-producing it, you can’t compare it to original art pieces anymore. Yes the process of creating the logo could be considered art, but is the mass-printing really worth paying the premium a singular piece or commission gets?

The graphic designer is almost never someone in-house getting paid for all the proceeds of the logo use though =/

The use the same logo . The designer paid for the logo probby a looooong time ago for a couple hundred to thousands of dollars. Jeffree Star admitted one fired back at customer who dislike the stickers they got in the mystery boxes. He fired back saying he spent hundreds having someone drawing them.

I remember the video Cristine did about her all night oats, and all the brands she had (oats, milk, powders, etc) are way to expensive for me, at least in my country. Luxury depends on your own economy.

I agree on your point but it’s also true that the production of something (e.g a sweater) can only cost so much. Even if you take the nicest raw materials and best manufacture etc, there’s no way a sweater can cost more than a certain amount of money to make. I think that’s her main point? Although you might not be able to afford it, if you see a 100$ sweater you might still think that it’s a believable price because of the materials, manufacture, wages and other costs that a cheaper brand might save on. But it’s just not believable (at least to me) when a sweater is marked at 1000$. If I look at the value chain I just don’t see where those costs fit in, other than a ridiculously high profit margin.

@@sonia613 agreed. This goes for so many things. I used to work in a florist, and let me tell you, it is NOT costing the florist what they're charging you. Including paying workers, rent, etc The same goes for wedding dresses. As someone who sews my own clothes, wedding dresses aren't something that can just be made for $100. Especially depending on the design. Lace and real silk are expensive. Poofy ballroom gowns use heaps of fabric. One metre of lace can start at $60USD and you might need 1 or 10 meters of it. Silk... don't even get me started.. And there's the design, hours and hours of construction, hand sewing, fittings etc etc. If I made my own wedding dress, didn't buy discount fabrics, and made a ballroom style with silk and lace, the materials would cost a minimum of $1,450 USD alone. But is $10,000 from a designer fair? Definitely not. The conclusion of my rant? ... grow your own flowers, and learn to sew / hire a wedding dress 😅

@@katyb2793 agreed or avoid when possible if you feel like you’re being ripped off. Of course some people are fine with being charged 10k for a wedding dress or whatever it costs for a bouquet of flowers, and that’s totally fine. But for those things you mentioned there are definitely other ways to get around them, as you said. You can also buy cheaper wedding dresses on some websites where they cost a couple of hundred bucks. I’d rather pay a friend who knows how to make a wedding dress, or find like an independent person who does it and support them/small businesses rather than big designers. Or worst case scenario rent it I guess.

@@sonia613 yup. The only thing I would say is avoid the couple of hundred dollar dresses if the workers are being grossly underpaid in bad working conditions. But not everyone can afford to do that, and that's fine.

that's so interesting omg

It is! Thanks for adding to the discussion!

I'm not sure where you're based (I'm not in North America, so maybe it's not the case there), but Hermes does still produce saddles. They are also still very active in the equestrian area in France - they sponsor several major equestrian events there, most famously I think the Saut Hermes in the Grand Palais Éphémère (a jumping event)

The brand name makes a lot more sense now lol

@@stephp6761 they do still make saddles, however, they do not fit modern horses, their “wide” saddle is only 4 inches, which in most other saddle companies is the medium tree size; these saddles are narrow, and have always been narrow. Too narrow for anything that isn’t a skinny high withered horse. Of all of the high end saddles that come out of France- Butet, Voltaire, Prestige, Etc, which adapted to the bodies of the new modern horses, Hermès did not. They may still sponsor events, but they make better bags than they ever did saddles.

And this is why the school system where I live is all uniforms. That eliminated this issue

@@Janiz1998 But it doesn’t tho bc kids will find something else to make fun of like the quality of your uniform, the color shirt u put under, scuffs on shoes, hair out of place, anything.

I go to 8th grade and ppl at my school geniunely don't care anymore so i feel bad for her daughter 😭

@@lexiel.8293 Look, in school kids will always find a reason to exclude and bully. But at least this is easier on the pocketbooks.

My parents were poor so growing up we never got anything that didn't come from a thrift shop.

I just watched this video last week (KZfaq has been recommending her videos to me recently). It was truly eye-opening and very informative. I have heard of Lululemon and knew it was a popular brand, but I have never owned any of their clothing or known much about it. All of her videos are very well done and well researched.

To add, I will not ever be purchasing their clothing after seeing that video.

X 2

@@KS-zl9cd me neither. I don’t like their clothes anyway 😌

I felt so triggered with this episode

More so, I was hoping for a recognition that all fast fashion and many expensive brands (whether fast or not) exploit their workers. It was made to sound like only cheap brands do that. A higher price does NOT equal better conditions for the manufacturers.

YES!! 👏🏼

Lululemon is super sketch in general. They don't have the best history with larger sizes and employees talk about cult-like classes they were forced to take and stuff like that. I had some of their clothes that I bought secondhand, and I will fully admit that I'm not a sporty/yoga sort of person so I can't make a ton of comparisons, but it feels like there are a lot of similar high-end athleisure brands now that I can't imagine that there aren't comperable, less problematic places to spend your money.

He's left the company but still holds shares and makes money. He also said it was women's body types that caused issues with pilling where their things rubbed. Their art director last year promoted a t-shirt on Instagram from another person who released a shirt that said "bat fried rice" with a bat and Chinese takeout box on it, he was fired. Lululemon has a long history of issues as do many companies especially the more expensive companies. Chanel, Hourglass, etc. don't release inclusive shades because they don't want inclusive business, they want white women. Hourglass last year released a face palette with darker shades but they were shades already in their line and weren't at all dark enough for anyone past medium, it's gross. Every brand has issues but some are inexcusable and that's up to each person to decide. How a person spends their money and time is a very sensitive subject but it's an important subject to talk about.

Canada branch of Lululemon is slightly less sketch but the money you spend still goes to line the pockets of a racist, culty, sketchy dude.

Yea Lulu isn't a great company and pretty unethical too. I'm surprised they kinda just ent over that...haven't finished the podcast yet so maybe they do. But to call out cheaper companies using sweat shops and not looking into Lulu is kinda biased too.

I worked at Lululemon and it definitely had the best work culture out of any retail job I’ve had. And their clothes are clearly great quality. But there are a lot of alternatives out there (like the girlfriend collective) that have much better social and environmental impacts

LV bags are not leather??? WHAT

@@valeriavagapova the monogrammed canvas bags are canvas coated in plastic. Lots of people think they are leather, despite canvas being in the title. An example of this is their neverfull bag. They do have some leather bags, but everything with the “LV” print or the checkered print is canvas and plastic. Canvas is pretty cheap and plastic is one of the cheapest materials out there. They are super cheap to make and they sell it extremely high.

To an extent... At a certain point there is no question that you are paying far, far, far much more than just for better quality. On the other end you have junk like Shein thats dirt cheap and thats reflective of quality too

@@valeriavagapova yeah. I never cared but I found out about this because the leather crafter I watch repurposed an LV bag as a commission for someone and she took it apart and we realized it's mostly canvas. The borders and straps I think were the only leather parts

Same who’s that streamer

I have two coach purses I’ve kept in dust covers for like ten years cuz I was afraid of ruining them 😅😅 did not know repair exists in any company tbh, I just assume they won’t

Great point! Coach will repair your bag and their bags come with a lifetime warranty which many brands at a similar price point do not. For example Michael Kors which has bags in a similar price range only has a year warranty.

Brands with warranty is a great point! You can't go into H&M and ask them to repair your t-shirt £5 etc The price of the original item might include maintenance for companies who do repairs

100% this

While I absolutely see where you're coming from, the thing is that those companies make such enormous profit from a ridiculously big customer base that you would need an INSANE amount of people to boycott them to actually put any pressure on them, and that's just not happening. Large fast fashion companies don't really give a shit because they're making bank anyway, even the ones that you see very frequent call-outs against. There are still SO many people buying from them that they can easily afford to not care about the naysayers. You'd need to get a very very significant amount of people to get on board with a boycott for it to actually put any pressure on the company, and realistically that won't happen. Which is why legislation is the only way to achieve real change, you'll never be able to make them willingly change their ways to appease customers, because they will never NEED to do so.

Part if the reason for their fame is that they were created exclusively for royalty by the fashion house, starting a furor in the public. Doesn’t mean you have to like it, but that’s why. Particularly Hermes, they hand craft each Birkin and you have to have a connection to even be considered to purchase one.

Seconded. I'm a crocheter and, on average, the yarn to make a scarf costs about $10 and takes me 8 hours to complete. But if I list for more than $25, no one will buy it. Even though I'm using higher quality yarn and more intricate stitches. It's frustrating.

Of course, the pieces you create are more like luxury items and not necessities. But I don't think it's fair to blame people for not having hundreds to spare and still wanting nice things. The cost to just LIVE is so high through rent, food and medical bills. It isn't always stinginess that is responsible for people preferring cheaper products.

Don’t say “even as a teenager” your opinion is equally important.

I'm with you on this.

The bird stays!

I agree! So many luxury purses and clothes are just .. a t shirt with the brand logo printed on it over and over. I just don’t find those cute? So I totally feel this

I feel like the popular stuff was before high school to me, between 12yo and 16yo it was the bullies time

LOL, lower high school (ages 13-16) in Finland around 2010 we had: *Baddies/popular kids;* smoking, cursing, wearing black +black hair +eyeliner etc, hates school. *Mid-popular/normal kids;* skinny jeans (straight leg for boys), hoodies, foundation and mascara, does alright academically. *Nerds/unpopular kids;* less makeup, clothes fashionable a few years ago, does 'too well' academically. *Outcasts;* learning difficulties or speech impediments etc, clothes totally out of fashion, no make-up, unpopular interests like anime. That american ideal where the most popular kids are sporty, beautiful and academically at least average was so not a thing back then😂 'Finland - Country of Metal music' was very visible in the fashion of the 'cool' crowd. For last 'mandatory' education years (16-19yo) the crowd split pretty directly 'baddies+outcasts' to vocational school and 'normies+nerds' to upper high school.

this is a great rule. although I usually get 3-4 years out of shoes that cost ~$200.

Do you mean you aim to get 100 seasons out of it? Or 1 season per $100? This might be really obvious but I struggle with understanding numbers!

@@caitlinquinn79 the second. So 1 season per $100.

Yeah, as a luxury brand they don't have to pass the savings on to you, because people expect to pay more for a luxury brand. It's just a way to make even more money.

Probably something unethically sourced from whales, just like actual unicorn horns.

Same!!! I have read somewhere that it can't be made without some harmful chemicals (one or several of the big 3 of nail polish), but i don't know.

True, but a normal person can never keep up with all the time the new tricks and deceptions companies come up with to pretend they're ethical. How would a single consumer ever verify if the claims a company makes about their production chain are true? That's a bit much to ask. The only thing you can reliably do is by less in general and by used stuff. But then it's on the government to not compensate for your boycott through subsidies. The only thing that could really save the environment in the short term are strict rules for companies created by actual experts and properly enforced by the government. But in the long term the profit motive, aka capitalism, needs to be abolished.

I grew up with original art that was purchased from young artists when my family members were equally young. Some grew into fame, some didn't, and we used to talk about who they were and how their styles changed later in their careers.

And many fashion houses are artistic and begin fashion trends-as conglomerate as they are.

That is such an interesting perspective that I would never have thought of! Comparing it to wearing a band t-shirt definitely helps conceptualize for me the idea behind it that some people could have. Reminds me a little of the episode of Friends where Joey wears all the Ferrari clothes so people think he owns a Ferrari lol

boost!!!!

i read it as ben and i was like, why did ben wait for this all week? 😂

Then your mom probably hates me 😅

Honestly same, that and "athleisure." Just goes to show how trends change.

@@pleasestopscreaming Sweatpants are comfy athletics wear, and are now harder to find because actual athletics brands have shifted to less comfortable materials that only make sense when actually doing athletics / sports with a lot of sweating.

But if somebody else made silk scarves with patterns you like for less, would the brand matter to you?

@@recoil53 nope, that was my point. they do have some pruducts that are unique and may be worth the price, but the brand alone does not merit it

There are specific prints and motifs that are exclusive to Gucci and related to the history of the brand, so you're not likely to find a dupe elsewhere. IMO high quality luxury silk scarves are one of the better investments. You can wear them in a million ways, generally easy to care for, and they last forever. Great items to hand down as family heirlooms. I have an Hermes scarf from my grandma that's framed in my office.

Love this point!

Do Hollister really said that (in other words)?

@@kat_kami yes, back in like, 2011/2012 ish

@@Writergirl716 wow, didn't know that, I'm going to look into it, thanks!