Would you allow someone to give your children counterfeits for Xmas?

[ChestnutsroastingintheFireligh]

I don't mean obvious Primarni copies of designs (the school arnt fussy about labels just style) - I mean actual items that are bought from a dodgy market stall/warehouse with fake labels etc

My feeling is that dd especially would be laughed at as she's gullible & wouldn't know the difference but her friends would.

The quality of the items (handbag & sports clothing) are very poor.

[cantheyseeme]

Are they realllly obvious fakes?

[THECliffRichardSucksEggsinHell]

So if this warehouse deals in counterfeit goods on a regular basis, why is it still allowed to trade?

I don't agree on forcing our moral stance onto other people, particularly when actually, there is no evidence that these particular counterfeit goods are funding terrorism or employing people in badly run factories rather than just some bum in a bedroom sewing in labels.

Some family might rely on the income they make from that to live.

Yet my top that I got from George could have been made by a 14yo girl who works from dusk till dawn in a dangerous factory in Bangladesh.

Of course I don't actively seek out counterfeit goods and would never encourage others to do the same, but I would graciously accept them as gifts and try to reverse the bad karm by donating them to charity.

[misskatamari]

Merry - it was unclear from the op that the children were older hence my comment on safety. It isn't just small parts that can be an issue however - there can be problems with the materials things are made from.

Personally as others have said I don't feel comfortable with counterfeit goods. I don't pay much heed to brands though. OP it sounds like your children are very sensible in their outlook (i.e. Real friends don't care etc).

If things have already been gifted then I agree with others you can't really refuse them without appearing rude but it's up to you if you want to keep them after Christmas.

[GhostsInSnow]

SP the converse even come in fake boxes. I was staggered tbh because side by side with genuine ones you'd never know. For some reason in Sharm the fake vans were a lot more expensive, around £25 a pair, which for that price you may as well buy genuine in the UK, but when you can barter down a pair of fake cons for a fiver then people are going to be buying them by the suitcase load I guess.

[mewmeow]

Haha at funds terrorism. Don't forget to not pay any taxes then as the British government constantly green lights arms trade to human rights abusers and terrorists.

[IceBeing]

For me it isn't about the terrorism so much as the safety. The ethical production of anything is a massive minefield indeed.

So in answer I would NEVER EVER EVER buy toys made in china (even if sold by fecking John Lewis). Because they have shit all regulation and lead poisoning happens far too frequently to risk it. Toddlers put toys in their mouths FGS.....

I wouldn't buy vodka out the back of a van because it contains jeff knows what.

I wouldn't buy counterfeit clothing because their is no regulation of dye safety.

[AmberLeaf]

You do realise that many of the 'fakes' are made in the same factories that are contracted to make the real ones?

that's why so many of them are such good copies.

so the real ones are no more ethical than the fakes. made under the same conditions etc.

[THECliffRichardSucksEggsinHell]

Toys made in China are regulated. If they are being sold by respectable shops in the UK then they have passed EU safety tests, whether or not they were made by a young girl with fuck all rights working in a hazardous factory.

You'd be hard pushed to find a toy or any plastic item, which is not made in China. We import a massive amount of merchandise from China, from toys to electronics. You will have something in your home that was made in a factory in China. It's impossible not to have.

[harriet247]

would never ever accept electrical fakes - ipods etc because they really can be fatal-young noy near us killed by a fake charger of all things

[MerryMarigold]

We don't wear any designer stuff. The only designer stuff I've ever owned was a pair of 'genuine fake' Prada sandals. They were fantastic and lasted ages - and the only reason I bought them was because they only said Prada on the sole!

OP, do what CliffRichard says. Sound advice.

[MerryMarigold]

My Dad has a fab bag he bought when his travel bag died on holiday. It says Vouis Luitton!!!

[MerryMarigold]

IceBeing. I expect you wouldn't ever drive on country roads either (far higher fatalities than motorways).

[IceBeing]

Most high street shops have recalled toys at some point or another due to problems in the supply chain in the general vicinity of China.

It simply isn't true that toys meet EU standards in the same way that it isn't true that the meat in value lasagna isn't horse.

The supply chains are so long and confused no fecker has a clue who made what and whether it was painted with something some random person found in a warehouse.

There was a case where the eyes (and only the eyes) of a doll had been painted by a particular bunch of chinese cowboys presumably because they were doing it for essentially nothing. The reason it was so cheap was the paint was stolen and guess what? It wasn't safe. The product was sold under the EU marker with the note some parts made in china.

[IceBeing]

merry I don't actually - though presumably I would if I lived in the countryside....

The thing is one of choice. You can easily choose to buy toys entirely made within the EU where there is much better checking and enforcement of regulation.

You couldn't easily avoid country road driving if you live in the country.

HTH

[cantheyseeme]

Do you dress in sacks? How are you accessing MN, presumably a homemade ethical contraption? Not any device made in china or where parts have been made in china surely?!

[Gingersstuff]

I wouldn't get too worked up about it but would not buy fakes myself. We're not into designer labels at all (tho my 13yo DD is saving up for Vans) but I'd like a pair of Uggs so shoot me but can't afford them. I could buy fake but I know that dogs have been skinned alive to make those so wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[HavingAnOffDAy]

BIL & SIL bought DD some fake designer stuff when she was younger.

I never dressed her in it as I wouldn't have put her in the genuine stuff, let alone the rip off version. Just not to my taste at all.

[MerryMarigold]

Icebing, you could move to the middle of London - and then get stabbed instead!

HTH

[MerryMarigold]

PS. If you spend your whole life avoiding risk (or trying to), you will turn your kids into neurotics.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

DirtyDancing - the market in counterfeit goods supports not only terrorism, but organised crime and the drugs trade, apparently. I would not want my children to receive presents that supported these - would you?

[mrsjay]

what SD said really is my stance on counterfeit everybody is entitled to use and wear what they want , just be careful when buying electrical goods GHD fakes are notorious for bursting into flames, I am just wondering though those who would use counterfiet where is your stance on out of the back of a van

[LadyRainicorn]

AmberLeaf many moons ago I used to work in a clothing warehouse and heard much the same - the factory would receive an order for a dozen tops in size 10 and a dozen in size 12 say. They would then make two dozen in size 10 (but half labelled 12) and use the excess material to make some for the snidey market stalls.

[worldgonecrazy]

I dislike fakes - it's a form of theft, but obviously some people don't see it as theft and justify it to themselves.

There is no doubt that a lot of cheap goods are made unethically, but that doesn't make it okay to buy something fake.

Louis Vuitton, in partnership with local police raided a fake bag factory in China where the children had their legs broken to stop them running away. The only reason there is a market for fake goods is because people are stupid enough to buy them, thinking that it gives them some of the cache of the brand, without the price tag. It just makes them look daft. I have seen fake bags on the internet which claim to be half price - so people are paying hundreds for fake, when they could support those living in poverty abroad by buying something non-fake/fairtrade instead. The "you're supporting poor foreigners" argument is a fallacious one.

Incidentally, charity shops are not legally allowed to sell fakes, though many do. They won't sell fake CDs/videos but will quite happily sell fake clothing, even though they are equally illegal.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

I wouldn't buy it due to ethical issues though, eg are fake ugg boots man made or made from the skin of some poor creature etc



Ummm... Ugg boots are made from sheepskin, which is the skin of the sheep. You know the brown suedy bit on the outside? Well Thats the sheep's skin. And that snuggly white fluffy stuff? Well Thats the sheep's hair..

[mrsjay]

Austarlian sheep are not skinned alive to make uggs though