Online shopping is full of copycats | The Vergecast

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

0:00 Introduction to Knockoffs and Waste in Fashion
01:18 Interview with Cassey Ho (Blogilates)
02:51 The Battle Against Knockoffs
04:44 The Impact of Dupes on Designers
07:25 Fighting Back: Legal and Social Challenges
15:52 Consumer Awareness and Shopping Tips
19:54 The Future of Fashion and Innovation
35:22 The Fashion Industry's Waste Problem
36:26 Inside the Fab Scrap Warehouse
39:04 The Process of Sorting and Recycling Textiles
44:19 Fab Scrap's Thrift Store and Community Impact
51:31 This Week's Hotline Question - How can I have a Clueless Closet?

How dupes turned online shopping upside down (article): http://bit.ly/47fiDJq

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Post from The Verge on August 05, 2025

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