to add my own cents, i do really think it's super important to emphasise how having a 'safe' binder requires accurate measurements, and you cannot cannot just go based on your last binder size or your shirt size or your brassiere size or whatever, it just doesn't work. sizings change, your measurements change, you need to remeasure for each binder you're getting, and for the love of god if you're very active in your binder, *get a size up* babe!
ive always used gc2b, and while i can definitely agree their quality has gone down a little in the past few years, you really do get what you pay for when it comes to clothing items and gc2b is doing their best to not have to change prices despite rising costs in everything, so of course that'll translate into a bit lower quality. it by no means makes it not worth the $35-$45, especially if the next cheapest ('safe') alternative are gynecomastia binders.
for full transparency, my first binder (a gc2b) did cause me some rib issues. this isn't anything to do with the binder itself or gc2b, though. i wore it for 12 hour days, five days a week. it also was never appropriately sized for me, as it was a gift and was a size medium based on the fact that my shirt size was medium. that is not an accurate way to size a binder, and that, as well as overwear of it, caused me a lot of pain. i knew that this was going to be the case at the time, but i wasnt in a mental state to care about the consequences when it was at least making me incredibly flat.
dont be like teenage me, teenage me was stupid.
you need to make sure you're following recommendations on wear and measuring practices prior to purchasing your binder. regardless of where you get it at, those are the only ways to make it remotely 'safe'.
gc2b is as 'safe' as any other company's binders, and they're well worth the low cost, even with a quality shift. please stop discouraging other people from buying there just because you had a bad experience (or god forbid just because you heard someone else did). share your opinion, but dont fearmonger. gc2b is the best option a lot of us have, and educating people about binding practices is a far better use of time than spreading misleading psas.
