Fashion at the expense of someone's life

Whether it's a 20 dollar jacket from Walmart or a 1000 dollar jacket from Gucci, we all buy clothes. Some enjoy fashion more than others and are willing to pay top dollar for top quality items, but often times, it's not the quality that people care about, but rather the name brand. But with designer items being so expensive, many people don't have the money to buy them, and instead, resort to buying fakes. Other than a disrespect for the original designer, most people don't see a problem with buying fakes. Just another business trying to make money, just in a semi-unethical way. But what many don't understand is that the counterfeit industry is much worse than it seems, and a documentary by Complex puts this trillion dollar industry into perspective. 

January 7, 2015, in Paris, two masked gunmen, Said and Cherif Kouachi, entered the office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine. The two brothers were working on behalf of Al Qaeda and were seeking vengeance on the staff who released a cartoon that seemingly mocked Islam and the prophet Muhammad. By the end of the day, the gunmen had killed 12 people and injured about a dozen more. Their arsenal consisted of various assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, a shotgun and a grenade launcher. And how did they get the money to obtain these weapons? Through the selling of counterfeit goods on the streets of Paris. 



This example was a direct link between counterfeit items and an act of terrorism, and of course, the selling of fake goods is rarely going to have this straightforward of a connection. But just because there isn't a direct link, it doesn't mean that there is no link at all. In fact, profits from the selling of fakes have been linked to sex trafficking, identity theft, gang violence, and the global drug trade. Funding these illegal activities isn't the only thing that goes on behind the scenes, however. Often, to make the most money, these organizations use child labor and run under sweat shop conditions to fuel their production. "There are a lot of ugly things that go on to make this allegedly beautiful bag." says retired NYPD captain Peter Moreno. "There's all kinds of kidnapping, dirty money." 

Throughout the years, many stories have arised of the various ways these groups produce their merchandise. Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch, says "Factory workers may work 12 hours each day and have only one day or two days off each month. They live in a small dormitory with ten roommates, and they may have contact with toxic chemicals during work." Ariele Elia, assistant curator at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, reports of children being handcuffed to sewing machines being forced to work. Dana Thomas, in her book 'Deluxe: How luxury lost its luster' tells of an investigator who found seven children under the age of ten making fake designer handbags. "The owners had broken the children's legs and tied the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn't mend. They did it because the children said they wanted to go outside and play." 

With stories such as these, many people may ask why the police do not shut down more people distributing counterfeit items. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. With the selling of goods online becoming more popular, it becomes harder to track down the sellers. "When you're in the online universe it's very difficult, because of privacy protections, to actually locate the true owner." says Amy Goldsmith, co-chairman of the IP department at the law firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin in New York. To further complicate matters, online sellers try hard to hide their identity in case of being caught. "The addresses are fabricated. The addresses are in the wrong country." also says Goldsmith. "The addresses will give you the right town, but the street name doesn't exist. The company name can be incorrect. It's a total fraud." Even for sellers that sell on the streets, officials won't pay much attention to them. The big crimes are often buried under a lot of smaller, less important crimes. And with other issues such as murder, rape, theft, etc, some people selling fake purses on the street just aren't a big enough issue. 

With the consumer being the main fuel for this industry, it is ultimately the consumer that can make the most change. Smart decisions on the buyers end can essentially have a greater impact than efforts made by the government. As Elia says, "If you find a fake Louis Vuitton for 26＄," before you buy it, ask yourself "what is the human cost?"