On Tuesday, influencer Isabel Raad (27) and former reality contestant Pierre Louis (27) launched their online store Trendy Things.
Even just before launch, the criticism began to come. Similar products are available on international websites for a much cheaper price.
Several social media profiles, such as Jenny Huse and David Mokel, have posted pictures of the products on social media, from among others AliExpress, with subsequent criticism of the influencers.
– I think that when Isabel has talked about this for so long and has said that she has worked very hard with this, because it then turns out to be something as impersonal as selling cheap jewelry from China, then it becomes a bit like “oy , there was so little you did », she tells See and Hear.
Moves abroad with his girlfriend
Lots of criticism
Huse makes no secret of the fact that she herself is very disappointed with her influencer colleague.
– It is not strange to buy cheap and sell high, but I thought it would be more personal when it is a product she has talked about for so long, and “hyped” up. Then you can buy exactly the same products at a tenth of the price of, for example, AliExpress, she claims, and adds:
– She’s Isabel Raad, and can do anything. It also gets so bad.
LIKE PRODUCTS: The products from Raad and Louis’ online store are also apparently available on AliExpress – but at a much lower price. Photo: Screenshot AliExpress / TrendyThings
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A user has also been created on Instagram dedicated to criticizing the website. The user @TrashyThings has also attached several photos of the products sold by Raad and Louis from other online stores.
Several have also written negative reviews on the consumer website TrustPilot, where they criticize the influences for not being open about where the products are from, and that they sell them at a much more expensive price than you get elsewhere. Several also believe that the two have given the impression that the products are designed by themselves.
Some claim that they have tried to ask questions about where the products are from, but that they have been blocked by the flu.
NOT ANSWERING: Pierre Louis (right), here with his brother Daniel, has not commented on the criticism. Photo: Andreas Fadum / See and Hear
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That’s how she answers
Raad has gone out and defended the online store on the history function for Instagram. She believes that the critics have been few, but that they have shouted loudly, and do not treat her to success.
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– I had expected this, when you are a well-known name or have many eyes on you, there is always someone who is negative, who will see you fail and do everything in their power to ensure that you are not successful. I’m very used to it after being in this business for six years, she begins.
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Furthermore, she denies that they engage in so-called “drop shipping”, which means that you do not have the goods yourself, but buy them from a third party and send directly to the buyer.
– We have everything in our inventory physically, we have built an office, have bought a PC, printers, and we do everything ourselves. Furthermore, I would also say that Trendy Things is something we have created because we think it is fun. There are things I have seen online, and used myself that I think are nice – why not create a separate market for this in Norway? I have never said that I have designed any of this, she says.
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Raad claims that she has never heard of the website AliExpress, which sells several of the same products.
– We have our distributors in China, who all these things are from. We are very careful that our distributors have good working conditions, this is not the cheapest dish you can find. It is true that in China there are copies of absolutely everything. We have received a catalog from our distributor, we also select products we want in our online store, the influencer explains.
– We have been waiting to do this
Challenging working conditions
The general manager of Ethical Trade Norway, Heidi Furustøl, tells Se og Hør that it is not unusual for online stores to use the same factories, and that it is up to the person who receives the product to set the pricing.
– There is no unusual issue. What is challenging is when you claim that there are good working conditions in the factory and do not present any documentation on it. Then you start to wonder how you can know that, she says.
She explains that Ethical Trade Norway works with its members to do risk mapping to assess violations of human rights and negative environmental impact, and then implement improvement measures.
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According to her, more and more consumers are concerned about sustainability, and that there is more focus on being open about the business from the companies. Now there are also legal requirements with the new Transparency Act.
Furthermore, she points out, on a general basis, that there are major challenges at some factories in China, and that there are many workers who have poor working conditions. In some areas there is a problem with forced labor, especially for the Muslim minority Uigerer.
– I think it is good customer care to be as open as possible, so customers do not sit back and wonder if companies have something to hide. I do not think that will be such a good business. It does not sound like it has been the best preparation here, but Isabel Raad has opportunities to improve. I do not know how conscious she is or if she knows about responsible business, but now that she has been made aware of it, she can choose to inform the consumer more, says Furustøl.
– Travel to be with the one I love
– Making money in itself is not unethical, but you have to make sure that the money you earn is in a responsible way, she adds.
Requests documentation
Carin Leffler, expert advisor on labor rights in The Future in Our Hands, tells See and Hear that companies such as Trendy Things should inform on their websites about how they work to ensure that there are good working conditions with their suppliers.
– Claims they make should be documented. Transparency about which suppliers they buy goods from is absolutely fundamental for consumers to be able to trust the company, says Leffler.
REQUESTS TRANSPARENCY: Carin Leffler in The Future in Our Hands believes Raad and Louis should document claims about working conditions. Photo: Arne Storrønningen
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She further says that very many companies place their production in low-cost countries such as China, where they themselves do not own the factories, at the same time as they constantly search for good goods at the cheapest possible price.
– They often have a good profit on this production, while risk and responsibility are pushed down the supply chain in the form of low wages, union crushing and the absence of employment contracts, she further states.
She also emphasizes that it can be very difficult to know the actual working conditions at factories in China, which make jewelery, clothing and other goods for the Norwegian market, precisely because the country is as closed as it is.
Raised in – others plunged
Raad explains that prices are higher than other online stores the products are available at, due to the cost of running a business.
– We have to pay customs on 25 percent, tax on everything, shipping by plane, which costs a hell of a lot, it costs a hundred thousand kroner. There is also packaging. You will get them in pink nice Trendy Things exes, in another packaging that is also pink with our logo – all such things also cost.
She herself believes that they have priced the products low, and that this is not a business idea that will make them “rich”.
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Leave on the phone
See and Hear was in contact with Isabel Raad for a moment, but she ended the conversation before she had time to be asked any questions. Furthermore, she has not responded to text messages or emails. See and Hear has not been able to contact Louis.
By e-mail, Raad has been asked if she can elaborate on what she thinks about the fact that she and Louis have made sure that the distributor in China has ensured good working conditions, and whether the workers have a living wage and otherwise good working conditions. See and Hear has also requested documentation on this.
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There is also a lack of information on the website about where the goods come from and what more of the products are made of. Raad has been asked why this is not available to the consumer.
Finally, she has been asked if it is true that more people have been blocked after asking questions about the products and companies, and if so, why.
According to the Product Control Act section 10, everyone has the right to receive information about, among other things, who is the manufacturer of the product.
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