A long-time Vans buyer took to Reddit to express frustration with a hoodie that reportedly fell apart after two washes.
"Lifetime Vans Buyer. Honestly Fed Up With Horrible Clothing Quality," the Redditor wrote in the post, which discusses how they bought a new Vans hoodie only to see it ripped after just two washes. They included two photos of the sweatshirt, one of which is a close-up of the hole.
The poster explained that their Vans hoodie tore at the seam when they lightly stretched out the bottom. They compared it to a Gap hoodie they've had for over ten years, which has survived "hundreds of washes" without any issues. The post quickly gained attention, and many users came together to share their own frustrating experiences with new clothing and its bad quality.
This isn't the first time shoppers have been disappointed by trendy brands that focus on looks and neglect longevity. Posts like these often highlight a larger problem tied to fast fashion: prioritizing cheap production and trends over durability. The result? Clothes and shoes that look good on the rack but fall apart after just a few wears.
According to the Journal for Global Business and Community, when Vans repositioned itself in the 1990s, it took on a few trends seen in fast fashion, such as outsourcing some labor and ramping up marketing for trendy fashion choices.
As a company, though, Vans has made progress toward its sustainability goals, one of which is to make its leather, cotton, polyester, and rubber materials 100% recyclable, renewable, or regenerative by 2030. The company is also working toward making all of its key packaging recyclable by 2025.
However, people are tired of spending their hard-earned money on clothes that don't last. The frustration isn't just financial, though that's a big part of it. It's also about how wasteful this cycle of cheap, low-quality clothing is. When stuff falls apart after a few wears, it usually ends up in the trash and adds to the already massive problem of textile waste.
This is more than just an issue of personal frustration; it's part of a larger conversation about waste and sustainability. Fast fashion's "disposable" approach to clothing has a huge environmental cost, from the production of synthetic materials to the mountains of discarded items that end up in landfills.
Essentially, it all comes down to how shoppers feel like their long-loved brands are letting them down by engaging in the new, demanding cycle that fast fashion is building.
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Giving me money back 💰 As one commenter put it, "There's nothing more frustrating than looking at a beautiful-looking shoe, just made so badly … poor materials, no innovation improvements, charging about £60 [around $70] a pair, that won't last five minutes."
Another commented with the opinion, "Vans quality has been on such a decline … the clothing is overpriced and the quality is garbage."
The solution? Considering that many users are fans of old products that stand the test of time, like one commenter who shared, "I have an old Vans hoodie, (about 15 years old, maybe even older) that I wear in my factory job daily and it's still in great condition," it seems that second-hand buying is one of the best options out there.
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