Helping Consumers Identify counterfeit product
Helping consumers identify
counterfeit products
United Nations report
provides visual guide to educate consumers and protect brands
.
The
counterfeit product industry is an exploding $700 billion criminal industry
with little information or protection available to consumers. Counterfeit
goods, mainly from China, have become as profitable for Asia's criminal gangs
as illegal drug trafficking, says a United Nations report. However,
counterfeiters continue to pump counterfeit auto parts, fashion accessories,
heath care items, pet supplies, and sporting goods into a market already
saturated with fake Rolex watches and designer handbags.
A new Web site, The Counterfeit Report now provides consumers a free
and informative visual guide to avoiding counterfeit products, while aiding
manufacturers in consumer education and brand protection. The Counterfeit
Report™ Web site allows consumers a clear, informative, and visual product
reference library to check and identify counterfeit products, medications, and
pet supplies. Consumers can also report seeing or purchasing counterfeit
products right on the Web site.
“The
Counterfeit Report is actually showing the consumer the sophistication of
counterfeiters and their ability to create visually identical counterfeit
products and medication. If it's manufactured, it's probably counterfeited”
says founder Craig Crosby.
The Counterfeit Report is the only Web site that provides manufacturers an
immediate resource to list and update counterfeit product information in a
central venue. This helps consumers instantly identify counterfeit or fake
products before they buy, and expands consumer awareness of counterfeit
products they would never suspect like the Gillette Razor Blades and Tide
Detergent featured on the Web site. The anti-counterfeiting effort is more than
protecting a trademark or brand; it is also protecting consumers from unsafe
and potentially deadly products and medications.
Counterfeit statistics are staggering. More than 40% of online prescriptions
are counterfeit, Amazon Marketplace was recently identified as a leader in the
proliferation of counterfeit products, and the U.S. military is
reporting a
huge influx of counterfeit parts that are putting our troops at risk. The FAA
estimates that over 500,000 counterfeit aircraft parts are installed in
aircraft each year, with potentially catastrophic results.
Internet sites and online auction sites including Amazon Marketplace and eBay
are swamped with real-looking counterfeit or "knock-off" merchandise,
while Chinese Web sites openly and freely advertise bulk counterfeited national
brands for sale. These Chinese products often make their way to secondary
retailers, swap meets and Web sites whose sellers often promote them as
"genuine" or "100% authentic," then disappear after the
sale.Counterfeiting
even extends to wines. Counterfeit wines are so prevalent, that expensive wine
bottles are now being smashed to prevent them from being refilled and re-sold
to unsuspecting consumers.
The purchase of counterfeit products is supporting criminals who avoid paying
taxes, cost U.S. businesses over $250 billion annually, and destroy an
estimated 750,000 U.S. jobs. Illegal counterfeiting activity is reportedly more
profitable than the international illicit drug trade, difficult to track, and
widely un-punished.
While we all recognize the tough economic times, there is no reason for a
consumer to get stung by poor quality, substandard, and unsafe counterfeit
products and medications. Many counterfeit products are identified when they
are returned to the manufacturer for warranty repairs, leaving the consumer out
their investment and without the product. "It's the consumer who
ultimately gets hurt. We're here simply because counterfeiting is wrong,” says
Crosby.
- See more at:
http://www.packworld.com/trends-and-issues/traceability-authentication-serialization/helping-consumers-identify-counterfeit#sthash.aDZB2N0Q.dpuf
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