Looking at old navy versus gap - gap no longer has any point of differentiation from their sister store. Why would I want to spend more at the gap for the same cheap quality as at old navy? The clothes are generic, and there’s not anything that the Gap has that makes them cooler, better designed, or a better value than something anywhere else. Looking broader Uniqlo at least has some points of differentiation with th…
Old Navy doesn't exist in the UK, though. Primark is something else entirely - it beats everyone on price, but attracts a different shopper.
My sister used to work at Primark. Someone once urinated in the changing rooms... grim.
American Apparel still exists as an online-only brand... wonder what their sales are. However it is owned by Gildan and despite the name, most of its goods are NOT made in America. Dov Charney (AA's founder) now runs Los Angeles Apparel, which does produce all its clothes in the U.S. (Los Angeles), and is employee-owned.
I can remember when they were the hot thing in fast fashion, but they were pretty much crushed due to the horrendously bad PR. Grim company.
Grim is a funny word here. AA was a small local company that, over a 20 year period, outsmarted and out-sold the giants of the clothing industry. And unlike those giant companies, all products were made domestically, sweatshop-free, at relatively high wages, while providing opportunities for undocumented workers. Of course instead of focusing on anything positive, the press decided it didn't like the male founder and kept reporting on sexual harassment allegations that were never proven and mostly not even addressed in a court of law. And eventually about 2400 workers (says Wikipedia) lost their jobs when the new owner decided to make "American Apparel" somewhere besides America. Yea, that last part is pretty grim, actually.
that statement is false for the majority of cotton clothing. from dyes to preservation or even agents that prevent wrinkles, a new cotton shirt can be blessed with a nice array of potentially carcinogenic substances. and since you mention the manufacturing process: look up some studies on the deaths and environmental havoc caused by pesticides used in cotton production. chemicals are everywhere.
Dyes are meant to be non-toxic, pesticides are super dangerous, but they are meant to decay in a few weeks, I dont know anything aboit wrincle agents.
"Dyes are meant to be non-toxic"
On a shirt? Yes. In your drinking water? No.
Interesting problem - we're going to have to downgrade people's aspirations if we're not going to import people to do base-level jobs. Will cause social unrest.
Not sure that anyone's aspirations need to be downgraded. Businesses may need to be more willing to invest in efficiency improvements and automation. They may need to take on and train lower-skilled employees that they might not have considered before. And pay higher wages to attract the skills/talent they need.
…and they’ll be trying to get that investment back from the customer by charging £9+ for a glass of red wine, sigh
I am in London, but my local store is just outside. I has no idea this service was a thing. Fortunately for me, the off-the-shelf length is a perfect fit (34" for me).
No but it had to be turned into fresh water suitable for use which uses energy and also can’t be used by someone else. There are water shortages all over the place.
Well those areas with low water shouldn't be used to grow cotton, like almonds shouldn't be grown in water-poor California to make vegan milk ersatz. Instead, cattle adapted to grazing in those arid areas could be a better and more environmentally friendly use of the land.
Too bad that the incentives given by a capitalist trade system don't really care about that. Without regulation, the environment or the health of expendable humans can, will be and is exploited to the maximum.
I can remember when they were the hot thing in fast fashion, but they were pretty much crushed due to the horrendously bad PR. Grim company.
Grim is a funny word here. AA was a small local company that, over a 20 year period, outsmarted and out-sold the giants of the clothing industry. And unlike those giant companies, all products were made domestically, sweatshop-free, at relatively high wages, while providing opportunities for undocumented workers. Of course instead of focusing on anything positive, the press decided it didn't like the male founder and…
I'd say things have been heading south for Gap UK shops for the last 10 years and accelerated recently. They have been on a downward quality path for a long time with no apparent strategy. Every time you go back, they have different ranges, so no repeat purchases are even possible. Found something you like and want to buy again? Tough. And the quality got progressively worse. For basics like jeans and t-shirts, I swi…
Why do you think we'll lose Muji? Presumably you've tried UniQlo too?
I base the Muji prediction on their hopeless online presence, frequently changing stock items, the lack of customers in the clothing section and my experience with other UK retailers. I hope I'm wrong. I've tried UniQlo but so far have been unable to find an item I want to buy in there. I seem to recall on a recent visit that their winter coats have goose down, which I avoid.
Muji is very very very late to online purchase. Mostly because of their attitude that customer should go to the store and see the product first.
But that is changing, my guess is that UK is lower down on the list for those upgrade. I mean those online improvement only started with Japan and China in the last few years.