BUFFALO (WBEN - Brendan Keany) - On Tuesday morning, the Better Business Bureau released a comprehensive study regarding counterfeit products during a press conference at New Era headquarters.
The Better Business Bureau is releasing a study regarding fraudulent consumer goods. They found 1 in 4 people have purchased a counterfeit product, and the industry costs the US economy $200-$250 billion and 750,000 jobs per year. @NewsRadio930 pic.twitter.com/Dz3NoqVXxp
— Brendan Keany (@BrendanKeany) May 14, 2019
"Studies have shown that one out of four people have received an item that turned out to be counterfeit," said Warren Clark, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York. "What we find is that many of these products don't work correctly, and that some can even pose tangible health and safety risks."
United States District Attorney JP Kennedy echoed Clark's sentiments about safety, and he added that the U.S. economy is really affected by the fraudulent good industry.
"Our economic well-being can be harmed as foreign actors, particularly in this case many of those from China, steal our technology and our innovation and cost American businesses not only revenue, but potentially their reputation, as customers receive inferior goods," said Kennedy. "It's bad for American ingenuity; it's bad for American business, and it poses a real threat to the well-being of our economy."
Lorrie Turner serves as New Era's vice president of global legal and brand protection, and she says the company loses out on millions of dollars every year due to counterfeit products, and she added that New Era spends millions every year to fight the counterfeit industry.
"Unfortunately the global market for fake fashion, which is everything from hats, shoes, handbags and sunglasses, to watches, makeup...has reached unprecedented levels," said Turner. "Those numbers alone are $450 billion, and that's billion with a 'b.' Unfortunately consumers cannot escape counterfeits - they're everywhere - especially online, and that's where the consumer interacts with a faceless party who's operating that website from somewhere else in the world."
But how can consumers protect themselves, especially when counterfeiters have become so good at what they do?
