Photo from NYT
Anyone who knows me well knows how much I detest
counterfeit goods. And I must take this opportunity to publicly thank my friend
Nina for throwing out her fake handbags a few years ago to support me and the
cause.
Since first discovering Harpers Bazaar’s campaign Fakes Are
Never in Fashion, I have attempted to educate myself on the dangers and
destruction caused by buying counterfeit goods.
Here are some of the facts:
$250 billion estimated loss to American companies due to
intellectual property theft
$20 billion estimated loss to American companies from
counterfeit products
750,000 American jobs lost
due to intellectual property theft in the United States
If that’s not enough to cause you to think twice, here’s a
poignant story by Dana Thomas excerpted from an article demonstrating the
dangers caused by fakes:
I recall the raid I went on with Chinese police in a
tenement in Guangzhou and what we discovered when we walked in: two dozen sad,
tired, dirty children, ages 8 to 14, making fake Dunhill, Versace, and Hugo
Boss handbags on old, rusty sewing machines. It was like something out of
Dickens, Oliver Twist in the 21st century.
Then I read the following passage from my book, Deluxe: How
Luxury Lost Its Luster: “’I remember walking into an assembly plant in Thailand
a couple of years ago and seeing six or seven little children, all under 10
years old, sitting on the floor assembling counterfeit leather handbags,’ an
investigator told me. . . . ‘The owners had broken the children’s legs and tied
the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn’t mend. [They] did it because
the children said they wanted to go outside and play.’”
(Read the entire article here.)
If you can’t afford a designer handbag, it’s no big deal.
There are many great companies making fashionable bags that fit the trends at
friendlier prices. Among others, I am a big fan of Madewell, Banana Republic,
and Nine West handbags. For luxury brands, wait for the sales. For
example, I just bought a fabulous Kate Spade bag for 60 percent off at their sample
sale. Also, you can sign up for sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La to get
great real deals. If you are set on a Louis or Chanel, save up your gift cards
and birthday money. You can often find deals on eBay for those. Just be sure to
following their guide to avoiding counterfeit goods. And think of
how much better you’ll feel knowing you are carrying the real deal!
Check out the Fakes Are Never in Fashion website for more
info and tips on spotting fakes.
