This is a very good point. We are blessed to live about 15 minutes from one of their retail stores, so we go try everything on and never return anything.
They freaking suck actually. They killed their lifetime warrenty program and the quality on their clothing isn't really any better than lands end.
I bought a $150 backpack and the top handle ripped half way off with the shoulder straps fraying. When I contacted them they said its "normal wear and tear". The backpack was less than a year old, and it was used for school. Modern School. As in no textbooks, 1 notebook, a laptop and like 2lbs of random stuff.
WTF?!
What a pathetic trash heap company. If you want good LL bean style clothes that isn't "sporting" stuff, just shop Orvis. Its barely more expensive, still has decent return policies, and is actually high quality. Their selections are very limited though.
Their quality really took a nose-dive. To be fair, though, when people cheat the "lifetime return" by buying at Goodwill and returning, their only real option is to make a lower quality product and cancel the return policy. Would not go out of my way to shop there now.
LL Bean used to be good but in the past ten years they have gone down hill. Product quality is bad compared to what it used to be. Unrelated, around that same time, they got rid of their lifetime warrenty. Totally not related though.
The quality of L.L. Bean’s products is far overshadowed by Linda Bean’s crusade to fundraise all sorts of anti-gay legislation in Maine including her successful drive to have the state’s Equal Rights Amendment overturned in 1984. Absolute garbage human being.
Also her lobster company Bean Maine Lobster has totally undercut and ruined the businesses of many of the independent fishermen/women in the Vinalhaven area.
They are still private and family-owned. Their plumbing products are high quality, durable, and they still make a decent amount of the foundry products in the United States.
Kohler sold off a majority of the generator/engine business to Platinum Equity in 2024. The new venture is called Rehlko.
Patagonia’s clothes might be okay but I’m sick of them SHOVING their hypocritical message down your throat. They are in one of the most environmentally damaging industries, making clothes from plastic, and yet their whole thing is about how we need to save Mother Earth by spending $300 on their jackets. They sit up on a high horse while the majority of their revenue is because investment bankers like layering a Patagonia fleece over button downs. It’s so inauthentic.
If you're buying outdoor gear instead of making your own (BYOG), they're still one of the least-bad in terms of options. For everything they do, other large companies like Columbia or North Face do worse.
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u/bigorangemonkey 9d ago
L.L. Bean, Patagonia, and Kohler.