U of A alumna counters online dupes with locally made product line

For a designer, imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery. After Claire Theaker-Brown, a University of Alberta alumna and Unbelts founder, learned her products were being duplicated and sold online, she decided to create a hyper-local line of “undupeable” belts: the (Re)Mix Collection.

Unbelts is an Edmonton-based apparel company focused on inclusivity, sustainability, and ethical sourcing. While the small company survived the COVID-19 pandemic, Theaker-Brown has recently begun to deal with online duplicates, commonly called ‘dupes.’

Theaker-Brown said she “set [her]self up in many ways” to have her products copied. As a company with a living-wage supply chain, Unbelts cannot offer the lower prices of companies that do not prioritize ethical production, she said.

“If you can find something online that’s selling well and you can make it at a fraction of the price because you don’t have to focus on funding living wages, that’s a ticket to profit.”

Creating the Re(Mix) collection was “an amazing opportunity to do a few things at once,” Theaker-Brown said.

Unbelts held a preview event on November 19 where guests learned about the product line and its development process.

The collection features a modular design that allows for colour customization, allowing the product to be both “undupable” and sustainable. Customers can customize the colour combination of both the belt and buckle to create a unique product.

“It sounds counter-intuitive for me as a business owner, but I really want people to get more styles out of less stuff.”

Supported by an Edmonton Action Plan Grant, Theaker-Brown used the collection as an opportunity to engage with Edmonton sewists, metal fabricators, and industrial designers.

“I believe Edmonton can regrow a strong manufacturing industry,” Theaker-Brown says

The belts include powder-coated steel buckles made by Edmonton metal fabricators located within six kilometres of Unbelts’ headquarters. Theaker-Brown said it was exciting to start “knocking on garage doors” and collaborate with companies who had never worked with an apparel company before.

Made with upcycled Unbelts deadstock and locally sourced materials, the entirely Edmonton-made collection seeks to highlight the city’s “rich history as a manufacturing centre.”

“We want to show is that it is possible for Edmonton to build local supply chain resilience,” she said.

“With the right support from municipal government and stakeholders, I believe Edmonton can regrow a strong manufacturing industry,” she said. “That’s never been more important than now.”

Following its local theme, Unbelts’ Re(Mix) collection is exclusively available in Edmonton until its global release in January 2025.