The copycat craze is putting small artists and designers out of business

The iconic Fazeek wave glass, Maison Balzac’s PomPom range, and the instantly recognisable Fornasetti wall plates are but a few of the many designs being ripped off by mass-producing retailers. Consumers may love paying discount prices for a well-made ‘dupe’ but the copycat craze continues to put more designers and artists out of business.

While perfectly legal in some jurisdictions, blatant theft of original concepts is sadly all too common in the murky world of fast fashion and online retail. The hunger for new designs among retail giants like Kmart, Shein, and Amazon is endless, and it comes at the cost of small businesses.

Fast fashion brand Boohoo is capable of pumping out new designs in a single fortnight’s turnaround. ASOS on the other hand adds 4,000 styles to its site each week. For small designers struggling to get noticed, the formidable scale of these operations is akin to a standoff between David and Goliath.

While one brave American freelance artist was game enough to sue Shein for US$100 million, most small businesses lack the time, resources, and energy needed to pursue legal action.

As 2024 shapes up to be another crunch year for small businesses, more artists and designers than ever are being pushed to the brink by these ruthless operators.

Though they have the means to, big brands don’t seem interested in investing in their own creative designs. Rather than contribute to the pool of ideas, they opt instead to sit on the sidelines waiting for products to go viral before pouncing on them. While small businesses bear all the risk of bringing their ideas to fruition, doing the hard work of marketing and selling them, opportunistic retailers are all too happy to snatch the profits out of their hands.

The disincentives for future efforts are clear. By allowing this to happen, regulators are siding with the top end of town. They’re saying that effort will go unrewarded and that it’s easier not to try at all.

Aside from training legions of consumers to undervalue the creative process, cheap dupes churned out at speed are flooding the market with low-quality products that are ultimately destined for landfill.

Then there’s the damage being done to the market itself. A decline in sales is a decline in innovation, diversity, and competition. Without the contributions of smaller players, the market becomes homogenised. The well of new ideas dries up with nothing to replace them.

The act of duplicating and selling another’s creative work without acknowledgement or compensation may not sit right with most consumers but the allure of bargain prices continues to tempt.

Something’s got to give

At a minimum retailers should give credit to the original designers, but more must be done to foster a healthier, more equitable business environment. There needs to be a shift in how big brands interact with small businesses and it begins with respect.

Rather than viewing artists as free sources to be mined for the next profitable product, larger corporations should consider partnering with these smaller operators. Contracting with and incorporating SMEs into their supply chains is a much more ethical way forward and gives rise to mutually fulfilling partnerships.

The financial viability of small businesses is secured and large brands benefit from access to genuine, innovative designs that allow them to capitalise on trends early.

Such partnerships leverage the creativity and agility of small businesses for a lot less risk and fewer resources sunk on the part of retailers.

Businesses must learn to prioritise collaboration over competition to preserve the diversity of the marketplace.

We need to do more to protect the intellectual property of the little guys whether it’s via legislation, market-led intervention, or a combination of approaches. As it stands, small businesses fighting to survive are in danger of disappearing en masse. Ideas are the currency of a successful economy; the loss of innovation has consequences for everyone — retailers, businesses, and consumers. It shouldn’t have to be the responsibility of small businesses alone to call out retailers for their outrageous behaviour. It’s high time we fight back against the obsession with dupes and replace it with a healthy respect for hardworking artists and designers.

Simple fact: big businesses are taking advantage of the cost of living crisis by undercutting small businesses. Hard reality.

What we need is for the government and ACCC to step in.

If this has happened to you, please contact me info@esbwa.com.au

Amanda Rose is the founder of Entrepreneurial and Small Business Women Australia.