The owner of Bozeman small business Revivall Clothing says that her efforts at sustainable clothing designs have been ripped off by multiple fast fashion companies.
"I started Revivall in 2008 and have always had a focus on sustainability," says owner and designer Laura Fisher.
She says that after seeing the waste produced by the garment industry, she made a point to design her products sustainably—only to have her work ripped off on social media.
"The video was trying to claim that they were selling these overalls that I make, using all of my images, my text from my website, my size chart, everything," Fisher says.
But the companies didn’t stop at advertising.
"I ordered a pair of these overalls not thinking I was going to get anything because I am the only one making these overalls, and I received a very cheap knockoff of my design that has been completely copied," says Fisher.
She adds, "It is made out of 100 percent polyester, and it says right here it was made in China, even though the website claimed it was made in the U.S."
Fisher says that scams like this can ruin the reliability of small businesses, as the scam companies sell low-quality versions of small business products.
"It feels completely invasive because they are using me to sell a fast fashion, knock-off product which goes against everything I stand for and believe in," she says.
Despite knowing which companies are stealing her designs, pursuing legal action has proven elusive.
Fisher says, "That is the biggest problem, is that they are these nameless, faceless websites, and you have no way of contacting anyone and going after anyone legally."
Fisher reached out to Meta, PayPal, and even Senators Tester and Daines—hoping that politicians will make efforts to protect small businesses from scams like this in the future.
To learn more about Revivall and its mission, visit the company's website.
