Brands that have gone to… pot

Yesterday at 11:57 AM

I can’t personally vouch for this article. I don’t buy new backpacks. I either get whatever I can find free somewhere, or buy military surplus. Military gear is built to win. Anyway, article says all backpacks are crap now cause they’re owned by the same company. Low end garbage cashing in on historic excellence, with the genuine good stuff hiding in higher pricing tiers, with no clear indication on which is which.

In 1986, a corporation that made women’s lingerie bought every backpack brand you’ve ever trusted.

www.worseonpurpose.com

The ensuing discussion about backpack quality largely going to pot thanks to corporate buyouts / profit chasing inspired me to start this thread, with two more “buyer beware” anecdotes:

Hush Puppies – I wear shoes for my business, and I may do anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours of walking per day (more likely to be 20 minutes). In the >20 years that I’ve been self-employed, I’ve obviously gone through plenty of pairs of shoes, and on average I’d say a pair has lasted me 3-4 years (including past pairs of Hush Puppies). Fast forward to last year, I found a pair of (genuine) Hush Puppies shoes for £50 UKP (which is cheaper than average for shoes in the UK, nowadays I’d expect to pay >£60), and I managed to wear a hole in the soles in about 3 months. The shop I bought them from said that shoe shops don’t legally have warranty-type obligations, but as a gesture of good will I can have a refund or replacement. I went with a replacement pair which I also wore out in about 3-4 months. I don’t know if Hush Puppies’ entire current selection has been compromised.

Levis – I bought a pair in about 2002. I retired that pair from daily wear in about 2017 because the colour was wearing out and the knees were looking thin, and I still have that pair for DIY stuff (albeit with a hole in one of the knees). Fast forward to 2023, because I had gone through a few pairs of other brand jeans in maybe 2-3 years at most (way faster than usual in my experience), I decided to try what is now an *expensive* pair of Levis for like £70/£80. This year I’ve noticed that a hole in a high-movement spot has begun. I’ve responded by buying Primark jeans for £15 a pop. It’s fairly well-known that the composition of most denim jeans has shifted to a higher elastane mixture to allow for a better fit, but when the expensive jeans wear out in relatively no time at all, to me it makes them worthless, not premium.

I’ve also bought Ralph Lauren jeans from TK Maxx (a discounter shop) and those have a similar hole to the Levis in a similar time frame.