Spring Break
Knock it off
Counterfeit handbags lack quality of originals
Allison Tomei
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: News
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What customers do not know is that buying counterfeit purses has been linked to terrorist organizations, drug trafficking groups and other illegal activities, said Jill Sultan, Manager of Intellectual Property for Coach, Inc.
Coach, a company that makes handbags, briefcases and accessories, is doing its part to stop counterfeit organizations by setting up a hotline to report illegal sellers and monitoring areas with increased counterfeiting activity, Sultan said.
Although Sultan declined to describe how to recognize fake Coach bags, she said Coach lists authorized sellers on its Web site.
Sultan said Coach looks at counterfeiting as "brand tarnishment" because fake purses have their logo, but lack quality in construction and design.
"From a legal aspect, Coach will pursue counterfeiters civilly and criminally," she said.
She said the easiest way to protect against unintentionally aiding this activity is to buy designer merchandise from authorized sellers.
Associate fashion professor Nancy Stanforth said she became interested in the counterfeiting of fashion accessories when she heard it funded terrorism and drug activity.
"It really shows the evil of buying things off the street," she said.
Stanforth said the counterfeiting industry has gotten so good that even designers admit it is hard to distinguish between real and fake purses.
"They have perfected their distribution and manufacturing system," she said. "This has always been around, but now they have the tools and infrastructure to get away with it."
Stanforth said people still buy knockoffs because they do not know where their money goes.
"I think if people knew that their money goes to people who commit terrorist acts, they wouldn't buy them," she said.
Courtney Gibson, junior fashion merchandising major, said she believes counterfeiting purses should be as serious of a crime as counterfeiting money.
"It is the same principle," she said. "You are making something illegally and calling it your own."
Gibson, who owns Coach and Chanel bags, said she knows women in her hometown of Pickerington who were jailed for holding "purse parties" in their homes, during which they sold counterfeit items to friends.
Purchasing counterfeit goods makes customers a part of illegal behavior they would normally not support, according to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, which states on its Web site, "You may be supporting illegal immigrants selling counterfeits to pay drug traffickers, people forcing child labor or sellers giving profits to terrorist organizations."
According to research conducted by the coalition, American companies lose a minimum of $20 billion annually from counterfeit products.
Sultan said companies like Coach depend on non-profit organizations like the coalition to educate people on the truth behind the "bargains."
An easy way for smugglers to get around the law is to import handbags without the labels. Once they are in the United States, the tags are added, Stanforth said.
She said the government should "crack down" on counterfeiters, even if it costs them money.
"I think if that's what it takes, it's worth it," she said. "If the public knew, they'd pitch in to help, too."
Contact School of Fashion Design and Merchandising reporter Allison Tomei at atomei@kent.edu.
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