Luxury: Purchasing Counterfeit Luxury Products is Not a Victimless Crime. Spread the Word.

Regular readers of The Luxe Chronicles will forgive me for returning yet again to the subject of counterfeit luxury and fashion goods. I've posted many times on the subject since starting this blog over one year ago but sadly, the counterfeit trade continues. While authorities and members of the luxury industry have made significant gains against the illusive criminal gangs that control the trade in fake goods, including most notably the landmark lawsuit won by LVMH against eBay (counterfeiters' distributor of choice), the trade persists virtually unabated. This is due in part to criminal gangs changing their business model to keep one step ahead of law enforcement. Sadly, it's also due to the continued demand for the products thanks either to the persistent ignorance of consumers or worst, to their willful blindness to the realities of the the counterfeit trade.

For those of you who still purchase fake luxury and fashion items, I urge you to read the piece by Dana Thomas, best-selling author of How Luxury Lost It's Luster, in the January 2009 issue of U.S. Harper's Bazaar (it's also available online). It details the ugly realities of how these goods are made and distributed and offers tips on how to know whether an item you may have purchased is indeed counterfeit. Incidentally, U.S. Harper's Bazaar needs to be commended for doing its part to educate consumers via their ongoing awareness campaign entitled Fakes Are Never In Fashion. It is the only fashion publication, be it American, British and French, that has made a sustained effort to spread the word.

Please remember, there is no such thing as a victimless crime. Please help spread the word.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Helene]

By all means, link away! Spread the word. Thank you Andrea!

[leyandrea]

Dear Luxe Chronicles,

thank you for this. many people are eager to have something, even a poor copy, that is "branded" int eh face of an increasingly consumerist society. the media doesnt help--but it is indeed both poison and antidote.

if only more people spread the word. in fact, dont mind if i link this article when i do up my post on this on my blog too! thanks for sharing this--and we should keep educating people!

cheers, and keep blogging!
andrea xoxoxxx

[Make Do Style]

Fake is rank, mind you so are some of the real things! They are a crime in a different way!!