Another example: Allbirds. $90 for a shoe with the build quality of something $25 from the Target store brand, but since it has hip, minimalist adverts on instagram it's seen as a great product and very popular.

I've never tried them, but isn't the selling point that they use natural materials rather than cheap synthetics like something for $25 from Target?

The main ad line seems to be how comfortable and the quality of the shoe, honestly the all natural point was news to me before you pointed it out to me, and I own the shoe. Two strikes for it though, given that they aren't the most comfortable shoe and as I mentioned above, the build quality was highly disappointing. I cannot stress enough how cheap this shoe appears in the flesh and on your foot, natural material or not.

Yea the main selling point of Allbirds is their sustainable approach to manufacturing shoes. I've never owned a pair, but from my friends that do have them, they often describe them as "like if your shoes were socks" - which I think is intentional. Maybe OP went in with the wrong expectations?