Big Company Rips Off Indie Crafter: Oilily versus Rosa Pomar

While checking out my blog list waiting for the coffee to brew, I found the following post on Whip Up—Rosar Pomar + Oilily: Blatant Ripoff?

Basically, a new product line from big company Oilily looks suspiciously similar, from fabric to shape to the smallest facial features, to an old product line that independent small crafter Rosa Pomar has been lovingly producing on her own for years.

The photo to the left is from the Oilily Summer of Love baby girl layette. The doll shown here is shockingly identical to the beautiful dolls that Pomar has been creating for years–see here for examples of her dolls from 2007.

Is this the future after the Consumer Product Safetey Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 finally takes over next year? Will all large companies then feel free to steal ideas for the products that small, independent crafters can no longer afford to produce, and then make those products themselves, paying for the testing and getting them made in sweatshops and mass-marketing them to the public?

Looks like Oilily is getting a head start…