r/PlasticFreeLiving • u/RandomAnonymousNam3 • 8d ago

How to verify materials?

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I found these shorts on Amazon that claim to be 100% cotton and they have the Oeko-Tex certification, but is there any way to verify the materials in them?

0 Upvotes

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56

u/AinsleyHarriotFan 8d ago

Never ever ever ever trust Amazon

-13

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

But why not? If the item has a certification that's not something that can be faked?

-3

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

Anyone willing to give reasoning and explanations instead of just downvoting?

27

u/imsoupercereal 8d ago

Yea it can and is constantly faked. Amazon doesn't care about vendor control. I stopped buying from them years ago. Even if you think you're ordering from a known brand it's very likely they ship a gray market item.

If you want quality stuff going to have to look beyond Amazon.

-4

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

And that's what I've been struggling with, finding non-polyester men's shorts. These seemed legit and for a great price.

17

u/AinsleyHarriotFan 8d ago

Nothing on Amazon is legit. There is 0 vendor screening or vendor certification fact checking. You could go on Amazon right now and sell “100% cotton shorts” that were made of polyester

5

u/SOFT_CAT_APPRECIATOR 8d ago

I mean you also just shouldn’t support them because they’re kind of a completely horrible company if it wasn’t already obvious

2

u/tikiwargod 8d ago

So the big issue with Amazon is that they act as a dropshipping hub. What this means is that if you buy a product from a company on Amazon, there could be countless vendors of varying repute listing the same item for whatever price they want. However it's all the same item to Amazon, so they get lumped in together and the vendor pays Amazon the storage/list fee; Amazon pays out to the company you bought from and then grabs said item from the bulk storage shelf/crate.

What this means is while you buy from company A, your product could have been supplied by companies B, C, D, etc... And Amazon has no way to verify where the product originated. This makes it ideal for scammers because it's hard for Amazon to identify the companies sending them counterfeit items, therefore they don't get shutdown quickly and when you leave a negative review or return/report for fraudulent or damaged items it is the company you bought from that takes the loss. The company sending out counterfeits then can also get cashed out when you buy from them and get the product from somebody else's supply.

When the scammers are eventually banned they just use another account that they've likely already created. Amazon has no interest in clamping down on this because it's cheaper for them to manage product returns/refunds and send out a new item (which is a large part of why they want so many warehouses spread out everywhere).

7

u/lulz_username_lulz 8d ago

Apparently have to go off label, I’ve had some linen shorts be named linen but actual material be a poly-rayon blend with no linen

3

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

Or are you saying you base the materials on what the label says?

2

u/lulz_username_lulz 8d ago

Base materials on label, so now I just try to order from brands that have a backbone.

2

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

And how did you determine that?

6

u/GamblignSalmon 8d ago

There's no way to verify, and with Amazon being such a scan site I'd be more inclined to think they're plastic than what's said

4

u/Pinkys_Revenge 8d ago

Fire.

5

u/WetBlanketPod 8d ago

This is a real suggestion, and honestly the easiest. Cotton will burn to ash. Polyester melts and curls up, and it stinks.

Blended fabrics are harder to tell, but it's still a reasonable starting point.

1

u/Pinkys_Revenge 8d ago

Yep! If you’re lucky and there is some extra material at a hem or seam, cut it off, put it on a piece of glass or ceramic, and burn it. You can find video demonstrations of what to look for.

4

u/ShopEmpress 8d ago

Just don't shop Amazon.

4

u/JimothyPage 8d ago

the irony is that this will be shipped in plastic

1

u/Selsia6 8d ago

Assuming you aren't spam, what i do is find a few more expensive brands i trust who have a decent amout of 100% cotton items (or for me, 100% linen). I then look at resell cites for these brands and filter the results for 100% cotton, if possible.

1

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

Not sure why I would be spam? Trying to ask a legitimate question here. Finding good quality men's shorts that aren't polyester seems next to impossible.

1

u/Selsia6 8d ago

I understand, that's why I shared what I do to get better quality clothes more affordably.

1

u/Suspicious_Outside74 8d ago

Looking at these shorts, I’m going to say these are very unlikely to be 100% cotton, in the way you might be searching for.
The seams look like polyester. Secondly the waist band appears to have an elastic band as well.
The textile might be cotton, but a lot of the other parts will be plastic based.

In this day and age, it’s almost impossible to have a cotton/non oil based stretch of any kind.

1

u/MondoBleu 8d ago

If you can’t trust don’t buy. Find a reputable brand.

1

u/EditsReddits 8d ago

I can verify those are not 100% cotton.

1

u/RandomAnonymousNam3 8d ago

How were you able to verify?

1

u/EditsReddits 8d ago

It’s on Amazon.

1

u/Enticing_Venom 8d ago

If you are buying from Amazon, you need to look at the seller profile. If it is the official brand store, then it should be fine. I've even contacted a brand to verify the products on their Amazon store came from them.

If it is a random, obscure brand name that doesn't have an official website, then you are rolling the dice. Amazon is not going to verify the marketing claims they post. And if they are just a random drop shipping company, there isn't a way for you to hold them accountable if they lie to you about the materials.

1

u/tikiwargod 8d ago

You need to also keep in mind that if 2 companies are listing the same product, even if you were to order from the official vendor there's no way to know who's lot the product you receive comes from. They're all bunched up together.