Designers and lawmakers are continuing the fight against counterfeit products.
The day after New York introduced a bill proposing a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail for purchasing counterfeit goods, Harper's Bazaar hosted the 8th annual Fakes are Never in Fashion Anti-Counterfeiting Summit, garnering support from Ebay, Levi's, and Portero.
From Ebay's Verified Rights Owners program, which employs strict algorithms to identify "red-flag" sellers, and shuts down questionably-sourced content within an average of four hours, to Portero's focus on training a diligent staff in the handling of its designer inventory, the summit panel focused on ways to improve the battle against the counterfeit trade.
According to the Fashion Etc. report, the discussion also centered on the collateral damage involved in the far-from-harmless operation, citing ties to organized crime and sub-par worker's conditions for those involved in the production of counterfeit goods.
Frank Abagnale, the infamous con-man-turned-security-consultant on whose life the film Catch Me if You Can drove the point home, addressing the oft-ignored dark side of the counterfeit business:
"Consumers need to know that contributing to counterfeit culture contributes to much darker things—like terrorism. People might not realize that lives are literally at stake here.”
