Have you ever had one fail on an Apple device?
The accurate comparison here isn’t between random low-budget USB-C implementations and Lightning on iPhones, but between USB-C and Lightning both on iPhones, and as far as I can tell, it’s holding up nicely.
I have multiple ones. They accumulate dust easily and get damaged much more often. You won’t see that if 99% of the time is in clean environment. As of today I have 3 iPhones that won’t charge on the wire. Those are physical damages so it’s not like anything covers it (and Apple Care is not available in Poland). Same happens with the cables. I’m replacing USB-C display cable (that’s lightning I suppose) every year now because they get loose and start to disconnect if you sneeze in the vicinity.
I despise USB-C with all my heart. Amount of cable trash has tripled over the years.
Maybe try wireless charging.
I find it superior to both lightning and USB-C.
I do, I rarely use USB-C on Apple devices (well outside of Mac). Wireless is great and I have nice looking night clock and moving files/other stuff over airdrop works good enough for me not plugging anything in. Recently I had to charge over the phone which required removal of pocket lint beforehand.