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Topman and PrettyLittleThing accused of replacing other brands’ labels with their own
Several Twitter users say they are now boycotting the fashion brands
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Your support makes all the difference.Twitter users have accused fashion brands Topman and PrettyLittleThing of “ripping out” labels from other brands and re-selling items with their own tags.
On Friday, one Twitter user — who uses the Twitter handle @katiewaddilove — posted a photograph of a pair of Pretty Little Thing tracksuit bottoms on social media.
“So @OfficialPLT are selling £6-£12 fruit of the loom joggers, cutting the labels out and charging £20 for products they haven't even manufactured themselves?” the Twitter user captioned the photograph.
The image appears to show the remnants of a label belonging to American clothing brand Fruit of the Loom.
The user also posted a product image from Amazon of a pair of men's Fruit of the Loom tracksuit bottoms. The garment is currently on sale for £5.75.
The post has since received over 10,000 retweets and 41,000 “likes” from Twitter users, with several sharing images of clothing from fashion brands they also accuse of replacing others' tags with their own.
One Twitter user, who uses the handle @Joanniee_Louise, posted an image which appeared to show a dress, she claims is sold by PrettyLittleThing, which had the tag of another brand still attached.
“This isn’t the first time...I ordered a dress from them and they just covered the tag with a sticker but kept the other brands tag on. I was told not to return but to bin it,” the user captioned the post.
One user filmed herself cutting out a PrettyLittleThing label from a garment to reveal another label from a different brand underneath.
Photographer Alex Hughes posted a photograph of a white embroidered flag hoodie, sold by Topman, with what appeared to have the remnants of a Fruit of the Loom label.
Speaking to The Independent, Hughes says he came across the label after it started to irritate his skin.
“The first few times I wore it I found the label where it says Topman was quite itchy so I went to cut it out and noticed there was the remains of another label underneath,” he explains.
“After looking further into it I noticed it was the same Fruit of the Loom brand as the one in the tweet!
“Considering the fact that I paid the original price of £30 for it, I don’t think it’s particularly fair that the actual hoody itself is probably worth about £8-12 and then they’ve just embroidered it and inflated the price.
Hughes claims he contacted Topman about the labelling issue but didn’t receive a response.
“I then tried leaving a review of the product online and they took it down because it “was too negative” - which is ridiculous as it is a CUSTOMERS review, not something that they should be able to change because it doesn’t make them look good,” he adds.
Several social media users have expressed their outrage over the images, with some revealing they were boycotting the brands.
“That’s so bad! Companies like these give the industry a bad rep just after money [sic]! No care in the actual design or hard work that goes into the construction...” one user tweeted.
“Never cancelled an order so quick [sic],” added another.
The Independent has contacted PrettyLittleThing and Topman for comment.
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