Fake Discount in Brooklyn

From Gawker, a story close to my Brooklyn-born heart, literally. The Brooklyn Museum has been hosting the © MURAKAMI exhibit in which Louis Vuitton handbags designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami appear.

The exhibit also contains a fully functional Louis Vuitton store. Now, agent provacateur Filip Noterdaeme has decided to print flyers suggesting patrons ask for special discounts on all Murakiami-designed Louis Vuitton products. The flyers are fake - there is no discount.

What does this have to do with counterfeiting? Well... the Murakami exhibit opened this spring with actors pretending to hawk counterfeit Murakami Vittuons on a mock Canal Street set. The only different was that the bags "hawked" were real.

And what does all this prove? Maybe that conceptual art is over my head.

Check out the comments for some funny snark.



(Hat Tip: Counterfeit Chic)

Crime of Fashion

From the blog Fashion Intelligentsia, a writer laments her choice of internet vendors to purchase a Prada Phone only to find it was a fake. Having spent considerable money on this fake phone, the writer presses home the solid advice to talk with as many people as you can if you want to rectify a counterfeit purchase. After being initially stonewalled by the internet vendor of the phone she purchased, she contacted the Better Business Bureau, which helped pressure the vendor into a settlement.

The Purse Forum

The Purse Forum is an example of how online communities are popping up to help consumers discern the authentic from the fake. As detailed in this article by Amanda Kwan of the Associated Press, the Purse Forum provides a web community-based authentication service of experts - lovers and connoisseurs of luxury handbags. Registered users of the forum post pictures and details of suspected counterfeits by brand, with members of the forum providing feedback and rationale on whether the handbag in question is real or fake.

The brands discussed on the Purse Forum evoke strong feelings of loyalty, which in turn engender a dedicated community. Unpaid monitors patrol the discussions, while the community responds quickly to members seeking authenticity opinions. In addition to authentication, the Purse Forum allows its members to "show off" their handbag collection, as well as share electronic coupon codes for trusted internet retailers such as Bluefly, eLuxury, Neiman Marcus and many others.

Check out both Kwan's article and the Purse Forum for this example of an organic, community-based anti-counterfeiting initiative.

June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor

The Authentics Foundation
Partners with
CARE USA
Supporting the Global Launch of the
Pasty Collins Trust Fund Initiative
Advocacy Grants Program

Quality Education: Unlocking the Power Within
Liberated from Exploitation, Empowered to End Poverty

World Day Against Child Labor
12 June 2008

In observance of World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL), the Authentics Foundation is pleased to announce its partnership with CARE USA’s global launch of the Pasty Collins Trust Fund Initiative (PCTFI) Global Advocacy Grants Program (AGP) focused on increasing the educational attainment for girls marginalized by hazardous and exploitative child labor.

The Authentics Foundation recognizes CARE’s leadership and efforts in combating hazardous and exploitative children labor around the world and is pleased to be a part of this year’s WDACL observances. CARE is staging and participating in global observances in Indonesia, Tanzania, NW Balkans & Serbia, Togo, Ghana, Mali, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and the United States supporting this year’s WDACL theme “Education, the Right Response to Child Labor.”

Along with the financial support of the Authentics Foundation, CARE USA, the International Labor Organization-International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC), and its national partners are working in tandem hosting national public awareness events around the world focusing on the importance of a quality education for children engaged in hazardous and exploitative child labor, especially girls. This advocacy initiative being launched today will give a voice to girls who are hidden, often along the margins of society quietly toiling away in isolation, never having the chance to realize the promise of an education-much less ever seeing the inside of a classroom for themselves. No longer will their voices go unheard. Central to their struggle of lifting themselves out of poverty is unlocking the power within through the provisions of a quality education.

The Authentics Foundation will be funding a four-year policy and advocacy program aimed at bring about lasting change for adolescent girl child laborers. By working towards a more conducive policy environment in favor of specific policies that liberate girls trapped by hazardous and exploitative child labor and that ensure the promise of a quality education, the Authentics Foundation envisions a world free from the exploitation of children, empowering the end of global poverty. Through specific interventions targeting sustainable change will this vision become a reality for 216 million child laborers around the world.

For more information on the Authentics Foundation, please visit www.myauthentics.com and to learn more about CARE’s efforts to eliminate hazardous and exploitative child labor please visit www.care.org and do your part by making a contribution today.

How to Spot Fake Fragrance & Suglasses

The UK's Daily Mirror just alerted their readers to the dangers of counterfeits by writing a short 'How to Spot a Fake' piece in their Sunday Consumer section. The Authentics Foundation thought we'd share with you some of their tips:

"Sunglasses

Sunglasses are seen as an easy target by counterfeiters, as consumers are attracted by the promise of "designer" versions at bargain prices.

The dangers: Fake designer shades are unlikely to provide protection against UV rays, which can permanently damage your eyes.

How To Spot A Fake: Watch out for "designer" sunglasses sold unpackaged or in flimsy, unmarked plastic sleeves. Test the hinges, which are inferior in fakes, and examine the designer name - often you can just scratch it off. A lack of the peel-off certificate proving UV protection is another pointer.

Perfume

If you're planning to buy perfume, stick to trustworthy shops, chemists and department stores or look out for legitimate bargains at airports.

The dangers: Counterfeit perfume can often burn your skin or leave you with a rash. Tests on some have found them to contain urine.

How To Spot A Fake: Be wary of products with lowquality packaging, no logos, or misspelt brand names. As perfumes are highend products, they're mostly sold in reputable outlets - not from a suitcase."

Read the full story here

Photo Credit

Canadian Authorities Seize Counterfeit Hair Irons

Much is done in the name of beauty. But using counterfeit hair irons to look chic on the cheap? Authorities in the Quebec City region of Canada say some consumers unwittingly did just that; the police announced a seizure of 4,500 fake hair straightening irons last Tuesday. The raid was held on January 15 after a months-long investigation beginning in March 2007.

"We have to keep in mind that everything can be counterfeit," Cpl. Richard Faucher told the Packet & Times. Faucher went on to admit that while flat irons aren't the usual seizure for his force, they must be taken seriously, as they can cause injury.

As with many counterfeit electrical products, the flat irons contained cheap, poorly made electrical connections that could "malfunction and could cause a fire.''

Even if a fake item doesn't go on the fritz, myauthentics.com warns that there are other side effects to using such products. Hair straightening irons in particular give off a great deal of heat, and counterfeit versions of these items could reach temperatures dangerously higher than company-tested products, burning the hair and skin.

Photo Credit