On the small brand rant...soz...but which of the gram influencers AREN’T doing a small brands shout out? Jesus it’s boring as shit!
& shop small doesn’t have to mean spending £500 on a light shade and it really puts people off of even trying when influencers push the #shopsmall message alongside these products. Shop small can mean buying from your local book store for a couple of quid more as opposed to amazon, cos your local book store is more than just a shop it’s a community resource & somewhere for kids to get excited about reading or meet their fav authors?? Or buying your #reno bits from a local independent merchants rather than B&Q. Using a local plumber rather than Pimlico. These things are often better value (if not actually cheaper) too!I’ve just been looking through their “small brands”, everything I saw was exclusively Kent or London based! What about the rest of the fucking country you twats!
I have a love/hate relationship with small brands at the best of times. Yeah we all hate amazon for the obvious reasons but amazon do actually employ people in this country...who do pay their taxes, the legal mechanism we have in place ensure they get at least the minimum employment protection. I have a good handful of friends who are “small brands/sole traders” and facts I know about them are these,
1. It’s quite often a lifestyle business, one partner earns well and they have chosen to be creative and essentially turned a hobby into a “business” (on reflection probs same point as 5).
2. They tend not to employ anyone outside their family, if they do they want that person as cheap as possible, minimum wage/apprentice.
3. They fiddle their accounts...be that taking cash in hand and not putting it through the books or putting pretty much all household goods through their business. Falsely keeping turnover under the threshold so they don’t need to be VAT registered.
4. They are being supported by their wealthy parents
5. There is no pressure to be a profitable or successful business, they do it for the love, so no despair when times are hard, their business isn’t paying the rent/mortgage or household essentials.
6. They are a money laundering vessel for their partners business.
Disclaimer - Not all of them are doing all of these things but every one of them is doing at least one of these things.
I like buying from John Lewis because it’s always quality, it’s price matched, they employ thousands of people through their business, it’s a partnership so no fat boy shareholders screwing everyone for their dividend, they pay all their taxes, they tend to deliver on time and if you have a complaint you can feel sure it will be dealt with, they are much more ethical than many of these “ethical” “planet friendly” small brands. They are scrutinised and accountable on every level.
I feel the desperate push to have an exclusive “small brand” product is what is driving this market, because who wants what everyone else can get. Many of these small brand products are just not affordable for the majority of people and are the exclusive domain of the middle class wannabe philanthropist types that ST and Sly are pretending to portray in their recent stories.
Sorry that’s a right old rant but it is something that winds me up.
My problem is that I can’t rid myself of the imagine of poor old Margaret Thatcher when I hear the term small local shops/businesses...& shop small doesn’t have to mean spending £500 on a light shade and it really puts people off of even trying when influencers push the #shopsmall message alongside these products. Shop small can mean buying from your local book store for a couple of quid more as opposed to amazon, cos your local book store is more than just a shop it’s a community resource & somewhere for kids to get excited about reading or meet their fav authors?? Or buying your #reno bits from a local independent merchants rather than B&Q. Using a local plumber rather than Pimlico. These things are often better value (if not actually cheaper) too!
Instagram pushing these messages of hyper consumption needs to stop it’s the worst!
Maybe Dom was channeling FOD’s strut, when he exited No 10 last night ...... FOD, you are, indeed, a true influencer
@LuBiLu Hope that all went well yesterday
Sorry I have absolutely no idea how to do that! I know someone who is a tech wizz on here can though?does anyone have a screen recording? i've deleted my instagram app but it's very important that i see this
Yay, congratulations, well done you!Oh god, imagine how much he would wet himself over how great he is, of people copied his "strut".
@MissPoppyFourPaws It went well thanks! I got the job
Congrats hun!!!Oh god, imagine how much he would wet himself over how great he is, of people copied his "strut".
@MissPoppyFourPaws It went well thanks! I got the job
“everyone is doing at least one of these things” I can tell you now that you are wrong.I’ve just been looking through their “small brands”, everything I saw was exclusively Kent or London based! What about the rest of the fucking country you twats!
I have a love/hate relationship with small brands at the best of times. Yeah we all hate amazon for the obvious reasons but amazon do actually employ people in this country...who do pay their taxes, the legal mechanism we have in place ensure they get at least the minimum employment protection. I have a good handful of friends who are “small brands/sole traders” and facts I know about them are these,
1. It’s quite often a lifestyle business, one partner earns well and they have chosen to be creative and essentially turned a hobby into a “business” (on reflection probs same point as 5).
2. They tend not to employ anyone outside their family, if they do they want that person as cheap as possible, minimum wage/apprentice.
3. They fiddle their accounts...be that taking cash in hand and not putting it through the books or putting pretty much all household goods through their business. Falsely keeping turnover under the threshold so they don’t need to be VAT registered.
4. They are being supported by their wealthy parents
5. There is no pressure to be a profitable or successful business, they do it for the love, so no despair when times are hard, their business isn’t paying the rent/mortgage or household essentials.
6. They are a money laundering vessel for their partners business.
Disclaimer - Not all of them are doing all of these things but every one of them is doing at least one of these things.
I like buying from John Lewis because it’s always quality, it’s price matched, they employ thousands of people through their business, it’s a partnership so no fat boy shareholders screwing everyone for their dividend, they pay all their taxes, they tend to deliver on time and if you have a complaint you can feel sure it will be dealt with, they are much more ethical than many of these “ethical” “planet friendly” small brands. They are scrutinised and accountable on every level.
I feel the desperate push to have an exclusive “small brand” product is what is driving this market, because who wants what everyone else can get. Many of these small brand products are just not affordable for the majority of people and are the exclusive domain of the middle class wannabe philanthropist types that ST and Sly are pretending to portray in their recent stories.
Sorry that’s a right old rant but it is something that winds me up.
Exactly yes! The cancel culture of not buying small is huge. Whilst it’s not specifically said, it’s implied that if you don’t shop small then you support child labour, poor working conditions, off shore tax havens, the devastation of the rain forest and kill kittens. Like I said before, many people simply can’t afford the difference between “shopping small” & shopping at a large retailer. I don’t think that makes anyone bad, it makes them financially savvy. I guarantee there will be a whole load of young women buying this overpriced tat, because “goals”, who cannot afford it and will find themselves in serious debt come January. It’s still mindless consumerism wether is big shop or little shop and actually that’s the important message that needs to be put out.Does anyone else feel a kind of fleeting sense of inadequacy because they don't shop small? I've kind of conquered my FOMO when it comes to material consumption. I can't realistically afford to shop small much. Though I 100% appreciate why its more expensive. Its so easy for influencers to parade their fake support for small businesses when they receive stuff heavily discounted or for free. I don't feel guilty because I shop at primark or H&M. I'd much rather be spending my money at known brands like Dr martens, Fossil and Liberty when I want to treat myself. Also all the preloved clothes off ebay. Why does no one shout about that!! Just not into these pop up businesses advertised by influenzas... 🥱
Well if you’re gonna quote me then quote me correctly and in context! I didn’t write “everyone is doing one of these things” in relation to “everyone” who owns a small brand, I actually wrote, and I’ll quote myself exactly from that post, in relation to my friends:“everyone is doing at least one of these things” I can tell you now that you are wrong.
I have my own small business, not supported by wealthy partner or parents- in fact I’m a single parent and work another job to pay the rent and bills while I try and make my business successful so I can do something I love full time and make my son proud.
And many other small business owners actually do despair when times are hard on paying bills etc. Especially in the current climate.
it seems that you are surrounded by many wealthy small business owners but that is certainly not the case for the majority!
Thanks @Axatogrind, I had to go and check myself because I thought I hadn’t been clear, but on checking I think (unusually for one of my rants) I did make it clear who I was talking about! And that response from Baz just pissed me off!@Dogmuck it's very clear to me that you were talking about facts to do with the small traders that you know personally.
Honestly I don't feel guilt over it. I generally don't buy a lot of stuff anymore though. It's been one year since I bought zero items of clothing for myself and in the previous two years I bought two items of clothing- a pair of gloves as I lost mine and running shoes. However I have bought my sister jeans, a jumper and underwear from M&S last week because I know the items will last and she needed them.Does anyone else feel a kind of fleeting sense of inadequacy because they don't shop small? I've kind of conquered my FOMO when it comes to material consumption. I can't realistically afford to shop small much. Though I 100% appreciate why its more expensive. Its so easy for influencers to parade their fake support for small businesses when they receive stuff heavily discounted or for free. I don't feel guilty because I shop at primark or H&M. I'd much rather be spending my money at known brands like Dr martens, Fossil and Liberty when I want to treat myself. Also all the preloved clothes off ebay. Why does no one shout about that!! Just not into these pop up businesses advertised by influenzas... 🥱
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