Last week a market stall owner in Sydney was raided for selling fake designer handbags. This week we’re exposing the nasty side of fake handbags.
I’m sick.
This research into the counterfeiting black market makes me sick to my stomach.
According to Dana Thomas of ‘Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster’, counterfeiting is an underworld activity exploiting children and underpaid workers and bankrolling TERRORISM.
She writes that in Thailand, children under 10 years of age have their LEGS BROKEN so they won’t leave. That factories in several countries have these types of operations, and when the police go in, they wear guns, these counterfeiters are dangerous.
She witnessed a raid in China, where kids were found gluing and stitching fake designer handbags. When the factory was closed down, these children were HOMELESS. And unpaid.
The average Chinese factory worker earns $135 a month, the counterfeit works half that or less, she adds.
Interpol confirms that fakes provide a lucrative income for ORGANISED CRIME and help fund TERRORIST groups.
I’m feeling sicker!
And the sale of fakes ultimately helped fund the bomb blast in Bali that killed our fellow Australians.
But before you throw your hands in the air and feel ethically damned if you do and fashionably cramped if you don’t, there is an alternative to that fake Fendi bag.
Pre-loved accessories shop with a zero tolerance for fakes (and know how to spot them) are a good source. Pick up end of season heavily discounted ranges from the large department stores of European designer bags.
But back to fakes.
So where do the great fashion houses stand on all of this? You may be surprised. We’ll pick that up in Part 3.
Courtesy of Gotham City Insider