Counterfeits

Counterfeit fashion has grown into a multitrillion-dollar menace, eroding brand equity, exploiting labour, and endangering consumers. Regulators have struggled to keep pace, leaving loopholes wide open. Now, a partnership between SMX and CETI in Lille seeks a systemic shift: embedding proof directly into textiles, turning Europe’s compliance drive into global leadership.

A new study finds that while many consumers have concerns about the immorality and unethicality of counterfeits, they still purchase them knowing it is wrong. But, understanding how people's self-assessed knowledge of luxury goods affects their moral stance toward counterfeits can help shape strategies to combat the scourge.

Almost 5.2% of the clothing industry’s overall turnover was lost to counterfeits in the European Union during the 2018-21 period, says a new study by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

In a significant increase as compared to pre-pandemic 2019, 52% of young Europeans have bought one or several fake products intentionally, according to a survey.

A number of industry groups have urged the US Congress to introduce legislations to protect the health and safety of American consumers by curbing the proliferation of counterfeit products promoted and sold online. The call, issued on World IP Day, comes in the backdrop of a number of reports that have highlighted the malaise of counterfeit goods.