Let's discuss AI artwork and how it is impacting the cloth diaper industry! The discourse has radically changed in just the couple of years I've been here - I made a tik Tok back in 2024 discussing the issue pretty neutrally and no one had strong opinions, but some recent posts I've seen in FB groups have some VERY strong opinions, so let's talk about it!
I'm really just here to blog about what I feel like talking about, I'm not going to pretend it is relevant or helpful to the majority of parents :)
It may surprise you to know that much of the lovely artwork you see from your favorite indie diaper brands is likely AI generated. Sometimes we think we'd be able to spot "fake" looking art pretty well, but it has reached a level of sophistication that has made it difficult to differentiate! Etsy (a popular spot to buy seamless files for fabric) is completely overrun with artists that use AI in varying degrees, either to create their whole design, or as a tool to create individual elements which are then manually pieced together.
One easy way to spot AI is price point - if you see a "pack" of seamless files for $4, and it includes several files, chances are that is not someones original artwork that they spent hours on. This used to be a sure way to tell, but here lately I've run across some files that were priced on par with hand-drawn, but when I reached out to the "artists" I was told they were at least in part created with AI.
So why does it matter? If AI results in a larger selection of patterns at a more affordable price point, why would we care? As always, that cheaper price point comes at a cost. Hand-drawn artists are finding the market tougher than ever, and finding it harder to get paid a fair price for their hard work, when there is unlimited selection of very nice artificial artwork at a very cheap price.
I firmly believe people should be paid for their talent.
Another issue is the fact that while "artists" are supposed to clearly disclose the use of an AI, it is never publicly listed ANYWHERE and I must always reach out to confirm. I hate to think of the many people that buy prints, or finished products, that have no idea artificial intelligence created that pattern. We should at the very least care that people understand what they are buying.
I have also heard from hand drawn artists that AI models "learn" from hand drawn artwork, and artists often have not given their permission at all for their work to be used as a learning tool for the models. The idea that something artificial can learn off of your own work, then go create something similar, which will then make selling your original work harder, is quite bleak.
The most common defense I hear is "Well I have no talent to be able to draw, therefore for me to create art I must use this tool. I wasn't born with the ability to do this, so I'm using AI as an equalizer". If EVERYONE had the same talents and abilities, they wouldn't be talents and abilities anymore. I have 0 artistic talent when it comes to drawing, painting etc. I am a quite good sewist. I'll happily pay the people who work very hard to learn and sharpen their abilities in the art department, and I'll enjoy my craft (which others, who prefer not to sew, pay me for).
In summary, I generally come down on the side of AI in artwork being a bad thing. While we've used some prints in the past that were likely not hand drawn, we've been committed to only supporting hand drawn artists for some time now. Keep in mind when businesses are as small as we are, every extra dollar that goes into our costs (including artwork) is massive, and therefore our margins on handcrafted, high quality products with original, hand drawn artwork, are quite small. Please shop handmade when you can, it really makes a difference in the market as a whole <3
