Chinese manufacturers on TikTok claim they make the world's luxury goods. Is that true?

This week, in the wake of widespread confusion about Trump's tariffs on China, a certain kind of video started going viral on TikTok, and then on other corners of the internet.

What is it? Why, it's the Chinese luxury goods conspiracy, Charlie Brown! If you don't already know what we're talking about, the videos in question feature a pretty standard format:

• A supposed Chinese manufacturer or factory owner informs the viewer that they are going to be "spilling the tea."
  
• The alleged secret? That European luxury manufacturers have been using their factories to produce their brand name wares, then charging an enormous markup that is passed on to the consumer.
  

What's the big deal? These videos have gone viral (though the most popular ones have been continually deleted and reuploaded on TikTok), and comments are flooded with users that are outraged by this shocking "reveal" and ready to spend their cash on a product that they think is more fairly priced.

• China's manufacturers making knockoff products is nothing new – but Trump's tariff wars are striking fear and confusion among consumers who are bracing for higher costs. Users have compiled lists and express disbelief over the fact that they could've been getting a better deal this entire time.
  

• It's part of a desire to feel 'in' on a secret – that's what fashion writer and X savant (formerly known as Twitter) Derek Guy wrote on his massively popular account. He spoke with NPR, and shared that while the knockoff bag you're ordering could be great quality, it definitely won't be an Hermès. He watched that first manufacturer TikTok embedded above, and immediately, a few things stuck out:
• "The price [of the bag] was wrong. The price of the components are wrong. And also the thing that he named that was togo leather in the video was not actually the leather. So that also sent off alarms.... He wouldn't discuss the stitching or the work that goes into it. "

What are people saying? "The idea of finding what you think is a secret deal online is incredibly enticing," Guy shared.

And it's not like many of these brands don't outsource mass production to other countries. But when it comes to Hermès specifically, that logic doesn't fly.

• "They have a certain flagship line, which are their leather goods, and within that, there are tiers of leather goods. Certainly the Birkin and Kelly bag is the top of the top for them. That's what they hang their reputation on… I know they make them in France, they make them in-house. They're not outsourced to China. They're also made in a specific way that I think makes them distinct from other luxury goods."
  

Part of the confusion comes from the fact that when it comes to name brand dupes, Chinese craftsmanship has gotten better, and the originals have become easier to replicate.

• "Over the last 50 or 75 years, a lot of high end clothing has devolved. When you look at even the mid-century, a mid-tier womenswear item would include pleats and darts and complicated construction. And then over time, that clothing has become simpler and simpler, where Balenciaga sells graphic printed T-shirts. So as the item becomes simpler, then it's easier to reproduce," he explained.
  
• "If you fold a piece of paper once over, yeah, that's pretty easy to duplicate. But if someone folds it into this really complicated origami, like Hermès does, then it will be harder for someone to duplicate that."
  

So what now? Guy wants to make two separate things clear to curious consumers.

One: Casting these doubts has nothing to do with the skill level of the workers. "There are Asian artisans that make handsome leather goods that I think are up there with Hermès. They're not making knockoff Birkins or Kelly bags. They have their own designs," he said.

• "[China does] make a lot of fine clothes. And also the counterfeiters also make clothes or accessories and other goods that are often just as good or hard to spot as the originals."
  

And two: Be skeptical!

• "I just recently saw the same person behind these videos has also done the same videos for cars, [saying] things like, 'We can manufacture Western cars for cheaper.' What are the chances that the guy who specializes in Hermès bags also specializes in any cars and all of these other categories of goods?" said Guy.
  

As for the luxury brand itself? NPR reached out to Hermès for comment but did not receive a reply by the time this article was published.

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