I think the "reason" is that if pockets are available, the pant wearer will put stuff in the pockets. This adds "unsightly" bulk to the pants instead of following the natural body shape which looks "undesirable" and doesn't influence other people to want to buy that brand and type of pants.

This is the best reason could come up with and it's a fucking stupid and infuriating reason. It's time to become ungovernable. Learn how to mod the pockets back into pants. It can't be that hard to figure out but it's still royal bullshit that this is what it's come to considering how much clothes cost.

Does anyone buy women's pants, mod pockets back into them and resell them on ebay? Or do corporations send their lawyers after people that try to do that? The idea of illegal pant dealers is dystopian as fuck.