3 days ago
It's tariff season. Do you know where your clothes are made?
Earlier this spring, Abby French's TikTok followers asked her to look into the 'sustainable denim' label Parke. French, a sustainability consultant, soon started to see some unusual details in the background of posts by Parke's founder, influencer Chelsea Parke Kramer.
In one video, Kramer, who launched her brand in 2022, seemed to have a lot of tabs open for Alibaba, the massive retailer of almost anything and everything for cheap, including wholesale clothing. French found pieces that Alibaba sells wholesale for eight to 12 euros per piece, such as a pair of striped boxer pants that looked quite a lot like the ones Parke sells for $100. In another video, French saw the corner of a paper with what looked like the name of a Chinese clothing supplier. When French researched further, she discovered what may be the source for the denim jackets and jeans that Kramer claims to design 'sustainably' — again, things such as $200 overalls that can be purchased from that supplier wholesale at 13 to 17 euros per garment.
