Shop Ethically: How to Spot Crochet Resellers
In the past couple of years, crochet has seen a resurgence. Like many if not all fashion trends it’s cyclical! As crochet has risen in popularity anew, there has been a rise in “fast fashion” crochet and crochet resellers at markets and online. It’s important to shop crochet ethically, but it’s not always easy especially if you don’t have a trained eye. Here you’ll find some tips on how to spot crochet resellers!
What are crochet resellers?
Like the name suggests, crochet resellers are people or businesses who buy crocheted products at a low price, then re-sell them at a higher price. When being honest about this, it’s not quite as bad. Many crochet resellers, however, are not only taking advantage of unfairly low prices on places like Temu and AliExpress, but they are also lying to their communities and customers! Many resellers claim they themselves have handmade items they have actually purchased en masse from these marketplaces.
How do crochet resellers exploit artists?
When buying from places like Temu and AliExpress, resellers are supporting businesses that run off exploited labour. Crochet is a timeless and complex art. It is not possible to make crochet items by machine or to mass produce them. Crochet must be done by hand. It is also notoriously time consuming! So, the people who are actually making these products sold on Temu etc. are not being paid what they deserve. Creating a demand for this continues the cycle.
Temu, AliExpress, SHEIN, and other similar businesses do more than exploit those making the items (which is terrible enough!). They also steal designs that artists worked hard to create. The artists who actually made the designs are not compensated for this theft!
How to crochet resellers impact your local community?
There are many ways this type of business can negatively impact your local community. There is a direct impact on artists and customers when people lie and provide lower prices than actual makers can afford. They take advantage of the community’s goodwill to make a quick buck. This can put real crocheters out of business.
How do you spot crochet resellers?
Educate yourself a little bit if you’re a fan of crochet products! Learn a few fun crochet facts that youcan have up your sleeve if needed
Have a good look at their table and display if shopping in person
Do they have a bunch of stuff? Remember above when I said crochet is notoriously time consuming? It’s not likely that someone who is crocheting things themselves can maintain an extremely full display, especially if they do lots of markets.
Do they have lots of crochet flowers? These are very popular among resellers and may be a sign.
Do their products and display have personality? Typically, you can see the artist in their work! If their products are more generic, they may not be the actual artist.
Look at their items, then do a quick search for them on AliExpress or Temu. Can you find the exact same items? If it’s just one item that you can find, that could be art theft on the AliExpress/Temu side. But if you can find multiple items? Probably a reseller.
Take a good whiff! When you’re around their table, is there a chemical smell? Do their products have this smell? This is often the case with imported items! It’s important to check because you can’t determine for sure whether the chemicals used are safe, especially for children or pets who may put the items in their mouth.
How do their prices compare to other crochet vendors? Check out local crochet artists to see what prices are like in your area. Maybe even reach out to one! Many artists are very happy to talk about their art!
What is their packaging like? Many resold items are made in China, with loosely translated English words on their packaging.
Ask questions! Actual artists are typically quite happy to talk about their work!
“Do you hand make your products? Can you explain your process? What materials do you use? How do you maintain your stock levels like this?”
If they are a reseller, they will not be able to give informative answers. Their responses will be vague, and they will likely mention they have “help” from their family.
Check out their social media presence
This is especially key if you’re shopping online!
What is their content like? Is it just product photos? Do they show any behind the scenes things?
Crochet artists typically post about their process, having videos or photos of them actually making their items.
If there is no evidence of them actually making their products, they may be reselling!
If you organize markets—please do your due diligence when selecting vendors. Do not give spots to resellers, especially not over actual artists. Not only does that hurt the artist community, it lends credibility to the reseller. That’s not what your shoppers are looking for!
How to support crochet artists
Shop small and local! This is always the best advice! But both online and off, try to do your best to not support resellers. Use the above tips to help you identify them!
Instead of giving dishonest folks your hard-earned money, find one or two artists that pass these tests! Chat with them, see what other artists they recommend, then follow them!
