A fox on a wine bottle in Japan was the first sign something was seriously wrong for artist Lyndsey Green. A friend traveling in Japan spotted one of her fox illustrations on a wine label, but Lyndsey had never been commissioned to design it.
"That really stands out in my memory for some reason, it's so bizarre, you know? It's like, how did that even happen?" said Lyndsey.
Originally from Wirral in Merseyside, Lyndsey graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in illustration and art in 2012. Feeling daunted, she volunteered at a wildlife hospital and began selling animal illustration products on Etsy and Not On The High Street.
Eventually, she opened a studio in Altrincham and became a full-time artist. However, as her popularity grew, her original designs started appearing illegally on major online marketplaces like Temu and Shein.
"It's quite demoralizing when you see how little they're selling for," said Lyndsey. "Shein and Temu, they always have this little thing saying '500 sold.' That's the killer. It's like, okay well I've sold two this week and you've sold 500. What's the point of me anymore?"
The rise in design theft has caused her sales to fall. "It's been declining over the last few years. Pre-COVID, I felt stable. But since 2020, it's just been declining to the point where I've gone back 10 years in what I'm making."
Lyndsey also criticized the inadequate response from Temu and Shein when she requests takedowns. "It never feels like you're talking to a human. You just get an automated response."
Not On The High Street launched a Design Theft Protection Service after research showed 87% of independent creative UK businesses have experienced design theft. CEO Pascal Schuster said: "Design theft has become a growing and deeply frustrating reality for many small, independent businesses."
Lyndsey hopes for a change in perception about pricing. "As sole traders, we do every single job. That's why our prices are what they are."
A Temu spokesperson said: "We removed all identified listings from the platform and added her works to our intellectual property database." A Shein spokesperson added: "We take claims of intellectual property infringement very seriously and take appropriate action against vendors."
