Online shopping is full of copycats

The Vergecast

Vox Media Podcast Network

Tech News, News, Technology

4.3 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on The Vergecast, guest host Mia Sato talks to YouTube fitness pioneer Cassey Ho (better known as Blogilates) about the well-oiled machine that is the dupe economy. Ho shares her experience creating her own line of athletic wear that sooner or later gets ripped off by countless copycats — and how she tries to fight back. Then, Mia brings an audio diary from a visit to Fabscrap, a textile recycling facility in Brooklyn, that is working to save fabric and other materials from the landfill. Fashion is a wasteful industry, not unlike tech — luckily, there are people like Fabscrap staff and volunteers who are working towards solutions. Finally, Victoria Song swings by to help answer a hotline question about how to make the high-tech Clueless closet a reality. If you have a question for us, call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com. Further reading How dupes turned online shopping upside down Lululemon sues Costco over viral alleged “dupes” The US finally acknowledges textile waste in new report Your stuff is actually worse now Ghana becomes dumping ground for the world’s unwanted used clothes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Vergecast, the flagship podcast of knocking off other people's work and selling it for $2.
0:09.1	I'm your host, Mia Sato, and today we're talking about knockoffs and waste, two big problems in the fashion industry.
0:16.8	Whenever a design goes viral, the copycats are close behind.
0:20.7	Today, I'm going to talk with an OG fitness YouTuber Cassie Ho, better known as Blagalottis,
0:26.4	about how she fights the dupes of her products.
0:29.6	Another result of the ultra-fast fashion cycle is a lot of textile waste.
0:35.1	I visited a textile recycling plant in Brooklyn, New York to find out how
0:39.5	they save textiles from the landfill. And finally, if you're into fashion like me, you probably
0:44.9	wish you had the clueless closet. We'll have V-Song to take a listener question about how to make
0:50.6	that a reality. All that is coming up, but first, I have to go maximize shareholder value in an ad break.
0:57.0	We'll be right back.
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1:10.1	summarizing meeting notes, finding files,
1:12.2	synthesizing data, organizing decks, organizing feedback, managing multiple schedules, responding to James's long emails.
1:18.6	Leaving all the time in the world for the things you actually want to do.
1:23.4	No offence, James.
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	...

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