Each year, $600 Billion counterfeit products are sold, causing a $512 Billion loss in global sales. And each year, Harper’s Bazaar runs an editorial investigation on fake trade, and the significance of purchasing authentic luxury products. They’ve put together a site called Fakes Are Never In Fashion, to help readers learn the dangers of buying fake, and how to be sure you’re buying the real deal.  There’s also a blog called Counterfeit Chic, that tips off online shoppers to fakes, and Lululemon even posted on their site a 9 step how-to for spotting their fakes on the web and on the street.

You may think that buying fakes isn’t a big deal, just a more affordable way to get designer(ish) goods, but aside from being illegal, and costing billions of dollars to the retail industry, most of these goods are produced overseas in sweatshops, under disturbing conditions. NY Daily News reported:

“In a recent sweatshop raid in Thailand, a group of children, all under 10 years old, was found assembling leather purses. Horrifyingly, their limbs had been deliberately broken to keep them from escaping. The owners had tied their lower legs to their thighs so the bones wouldn’t mend.”

After reading this, I’ll never for a second consider following one of the vendors on Canal street down a dark alley or into a shady apartment, and even though I can’t afford luxury designers, I’ll save my money for Portero or Bag Borrow or Steal or buy vintage styles or from a good boutique that’s more in my price range.  

Many people might see buying fakes as a harmless crime, but when you think about who is making these fakes, think twice before you buy.  You may think you’re ‘sticking it to the man’ by buying ripped off designs, but you’re basically telling the evil man that it’s okay to use and abuse children to make your fake Louis Vuitton handbags and Jimmy Choo shoes.  Get smart, and if you can’t afford luxury items, look somewhere else!