Woman calls out influencer for high-priced, poor-quality clothing line: ‘Fast-fashion quality at high-end price points’

A consumer called out British reality star and influencer Molly-Mae Hague on TikTok for not being able to explain what the pieces in her clothing line are made of. 

What’s happening?

Ellie Dean (@elliiedean) highlighted in her post that Hague’s clothing line, Maebe, has blazers made of 85% polyester. She also noted that the influencer could not answer questions about the clothes’ material in a recent Vogue interview. 

@elliiedean Im SO lost😭 Molly Mae has addressed claims that her clothing line Maebe is made of poor quality materials such as polyester in recent British Vogue interview #mollymae #celebnews #popculture #mollymaehague ♬ original sound – Ellie Dean

“I can’t lie. I’m absolutely baffled,” Dean said. One TikToker responded to her post: “Fast-fashion quality at high-end price points.” 

In the British Vogue interview, journalist Sirin Kale said: “Hague herself doesn’t seem to have engaged in a meaningful way with the ethics of this industry.” 

Kale reported Hague doesn’t appear to handle the company’s production side. 

Maebe sent its “animal welfare, ethical worker and child labor policies” to Kale, who sent the information to academics at the University of Westminster and Manchester Metropolitan University for analysis. 

They said the policies were “pretty standard” but lacked information on how they would enforce the policies with suppliers. When Kale followed up with the Maebe team about whether it conducted audits with suppliers, she received no response. 

Maebe isn’t the only influencer fashion line that has come under scrutiny for fast-fashion brands at high price points. Kylie Jenner‘s first fashion line was also criticized for its materials. 

Why is the lack of transparency in materials concerning?

While polyester is cheap and durable, it also contains chemicals. According to EarthDay.org, polyester is made out of several chemicals from petroleum. Dirty energy is required to make this fabric, and in the process, local communities are polluted with toxic gas when making the clothes. 

🗣️ What should the government do about the fast fashion industry?

🔘 Set strict regulations 🚫

🔘 Incentivize sustainable options 💰

🔘 Use both regulations and incentives 🏛️

🔘 Nothing 🙅

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

Ninety percent of clothes are dyed synthetically, which requires vast amounts of water. This water is then pumped into the local waterways, contaminating the water for residents.

After you buy the clothes, microfibers get released in a washing machine and end up in the ocean, hurting marine life. These particles have also ended up in humans, per EarthDay.org, and have been found in people’s lungs, hearts, blood, and breast milk.

What’s being done about the lack of transparency in the fashion industry?

The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act was proposed in New York in 2022. According to the Sourcing Journal, if passed, it would require any brand doing work in New York that makes over $100 million globally to disclose polluting gas pollution, water and chemical use, and material type.

New York is one of the world’s fashion capitals, so the bill would significantly improve transparency.

Unfortunately, with the lack of transparency, there is a lot of greenwashing, where corporations have campaigns stating their eco-friendly practices without holding themselves to those standards. 

If you educate yourself about greenwashing, you can better spot the brands that are not living up to their policies.

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