[simiones]

We have a pretty good idea of how commerce worked before widespread legal trademark protections, and you're dead wrong about it. Trademarks are much older than trademark law. Before they were protected in law, they were usually made very intricate in the hopes that other craftsmen would not be able to reproduce them, kind of like a signature.

And the reason is also self-evident: it is very hard if not impossible to assess all of the relevant capabilities of a manufactured product just on an quick inspection. Even if you were able to do so for one category of product, you'll not be an expert in every category. As such, the only way to know the true quality of products you are buying is to rely on the reputation of the one crafting them, and the branding of the products is used to establish the chain of trust (this shoe has such-and-such craftsman's mark, so I know its a quality shoe because I've bought other shoes from them in the past and they lasted two decades).

Even if you had very strong laws to prevent false advertising of features, it's extremely cost-prohibitive to establish build quality objectively without relying on the reputation of the maker. How would that even look? What would you expect to see on a non-branded shirt to tell you whether it's a good quality weave or a poor one? Whether the color is strongly bonded to the fabric or it will wash off? Whether the seams are sturdy or prone to breaking?