Take a quick look at any magazine and you’ll find a plethora of products with designer and celebrity labels. Consumers are fascinated by celebrities and  are often persuaded to make aspirational purchases . Consider this: If we own a handbag, jeans, dog coat that an A- list celebrity designed or owns  are we purchasing a better item or are we trying to achieve a certain social status ourselves? Two friends and I talked about this recently. One friend loves designer items and the other still well dressed, does not. Both agreed most people do believe that if an item has a recognized designer label, it must be better and both thought it would be a great topic for a blog post.  I thought don’t they already know? They made a great point that not everyone looks at every facet of quality like I do. 

I’m not knocking all things  ’designer.’  I have some famous name  items myself , but I purchase them only when there is something I love about the item – not for the sake of the name. I know first hand from manufacturing our Goose Down Filled Doggie Coats that our items are made right next to some very high end couture goods. The joke in the factory is we’re fussier about our quality than big designer names (with even bigger price tags) are about their quality.  

Knowing what I know, it bothers me when quality is secondary to celebrity for consumers and even more so for editors of publications who should do their research before promoting anything.  If a consumer chooses to pay a higher price for a name and the price isn’t justified by high quality, that’s their decision.  I do think it’s a disservice to consumers for magazines to tout celebrity goods because the celebrity photo sells magazines. I supposed the practice wouldn’t exist if some consumers didn’t buy into it, but we tend to trust what’s in print and it seems sometimes editors use their influence inappropriately.

Many big design names have entered the pet products industry.  The motivation for most is simple: the pet industry has done very well compared to many other industries. There are shampoos, polo shirts, coats, leads, you name it available with celebrity endorsements and labels. Many are made overseas, frequently in China. Most disturbing, many fit and function very poorly for the animals. It’s one thing for the consumer to over pay for a name, but another for an animal to be ‘adorned’ as a doll in an ill fitting poorly made item or have to wear something that causes them discomfort. I attended a charity gala to benefit a very large no kill shelter. To raise money there was a silent auction with many designer items. Some of the items shown were heavily adorned collars. The work on some was beautiful – however the collars were so incredibly heavy they caused discomfort to the dogs. Celebrities were applauded for their designs – but not by the dogs who had to wear them.

Harsh words? I thought maybe I was being overly critical since we manufacture our own items so I asked several people to find designer items they liked on first impression and try them out with their own dogs. Note that the people I asked have a variety of personal tastes and a variety of dog breeds and sizes.  In came the supposedly highest end carriers, coats, jeweled collars with notes and demonstrations from the people who tried them. I’d asked them to evaluate items on the following:  if they felt the item was a fair price, how they rated the quality, if the item worked or fit well, and where it was made. In every single case once the volunteers examined and used the item they selected they were disappointed. Interestingly they were disappointed not just because of the high price compared to the quality, but disappointed in the item even if it had been a much lower price. Some of the volunteers were really surprised and thought the choices they made would surely be the item worth the high price. 

Again, I’m not knocking all things ‘designer’.  I am suggesting instead that we need to be intelligent consumers. If you are reading this post you are most likely someone who cares a great deal about your animal. Most of us work hard for our money and want to purchase items that are a good value. That isn’t always the least or most expensive item. It’s the item that works as promised, lasts and we enjoy. 

I hope this prompts you to compare items and make purchases that serve you and your best friends well.

All the best and thanks for visiting,

Patti and Desi