Dupe Culture is Everywhere - But is it ethical?

By Parthivee Mukherji

Swipe into any corner of Tiktok or Instagram today, and you will find a whole realm obsessed with dupes. From 1.99 pound “versions” of 40-pound lip glosses to handbags that echo the same silhouette of the luxury icons without the expensive price tags, dupe culture has progressed from a phenomenon to a real concept in the fashion and beauty world. It promises accessibility, affordability, and the thrill of finding something that conveys the high-end look for a fraction of the cost. But beneath the excitement of spending less, lies a more complex story – one that raises questions about creativity, ethics, sustainability, and the value we assign to the things we buy.

At a glance, dupe culture seems quite harmless – it just makes fashion more accessible. Not everyone can afford a new designer bag for every occasion or a trending product every week that literally sells for half a month’s rent. Dupes offer a way for people to participate in fashion, to showcase their tastes without draining them financially. In that sense, they expand access and empower individuals to explore more brands and find out what suits them best. When a 29-pound bag captures the aura and mood of a 2000 pound one, then it feels like a quiet win against exclusivity.

But there is a fine line between “inspired” and “ripped off.” Brands enter the ethical grey zone when their dupes replicate a design so close to the real one that they border on counterfeits. Counterfeits intentionally imitate a brand’s identity – logos, patterns, and even serial codes – and this is deemed to be illegal. Dupes, however, try their best to avoid such grey areas by avoiding branding while mimicking popular silhouettes or trends. Yet, the question remains – does replicating a designer’s vision undermine the creative labour, craftmanship, and artistic innovation that went into the original?

For small designers, the impact to their business can be quite drastic. Independent creators often release unique, one-of-a-kind, labour-intensive designs only to see he fast-fashion greats churn out near-identical versions within weeks with no credit whatsoever. These knockoffs undercut their business, reduce the exclusivity of their brand identity, and make it impossible for them to compete. Creativity becomes a source of vulnerability rather than opportunity.

Then there is the issue of sustainability. Dupes are often produced by fast-fashion conglomerates that rely on high-volume, low-cost production. This means more syntheticism, more waste, more microplastics, and an even faster trend cycle. The excitement of “I found a dupe!” often overshadows the environmental risk that disposable and short-lived items pose. A designer bag or a trendy item made sustainably may be more expensive, but it often has better shelf-life than the dozens of cheaply produced dupes – and leaves a smaller footprint in the long run.

There is also the cultural aspect worth noting. Luxury fashion has historically been a marker of status, exclusivity, and uniqueness. Dupe culture turns this concept on its heels (pun intended) – it challenges the idea that only wealth determines access to luxury and good taste. It ridicules gatekeeping that is interwoven with luxury fashion. In this way, dupes operate like a quiet form of rebellion – an anti-elitist stance disguised in faux leather and rhinestones. But, on the other hand, certain luxury brandings have legacies that have inspired some of their most revered products. What dupe culture does is undermine the cultural and heritage value of such legacies and render them quite meaningless.

So where does it leave us ethically? Perhaps the answer lies in intention and awareness. Not all dupes are unethical. Inspired designs can be harmless, that is the beauty of creativity. It can be fun, and financially inclusive – especially when they do not exploit small designers or are blatant ripoffs. A lot of that ethical duty is entrusted upon the consumers as well – blindly buying into every viral “dupe” can contribute to waste, labour issues, and a culture that does not value originality.

Ultimately, dupe culture reveals our evolving relationship with fashion – we crave beauty, novelty, and inclusivity, but we also want affordability, accessibility, and originality. The key to solving such issues is to balance these desires without losing sight of integrity – both personal and creative. Fashion should be expensive, but not exploitative. And sometimes, the most stylish choice is not the cheapest or the most expensive – it is the most thoughtful.