Counterfeit products are not your friends
A public service announcement from Finn + Emma…
If you’re trying to learn yoga, or how to prepare the perfect omelet, it’s okay to fake it ‘til you make it. But, in the world of commerce, faking it is decidedly not okay—and it’s important to protect yourself and your children from counterfeiters.
The International Trademark Association estimates that $460 billion worth of counterfeit goods are bought and sold each year. Naturally, much of this illegal activity takes place online, where it’s relatively easy for vendors to peddle imitation items that run the gamut from sneakers and eyeglasses to medicine, electronics, and—yes, even children’s clothing and accessories.
Here are some of the risks to buying counterfeit goods:
- Safety: Counterfeit items aren’t tested for safety and may contain any number of illegal dyes and unsafe chemicals. Choking hazards are also a big concern, as some vendors may swap in cheaper materials such as buttons that are unsafe for baby.
- Quality: Counterfeiters may claim that their items are made with organic, sustainable materials, but if the deal seems too good to be true…it probably is. Counterfeit items tend to be poorly made and poorly finished, and of course they aren’t tested for quality—resulting in cheap substitutes for the real thing.
- Fit of the garment: At Finn + Emma, we’ve worked hard to ensure that our fabrics don’t shrink as much as others on the market—and that our pants accommodate both cloth and disposable diapers. On imitation items, it is unlikely that the fit will be correct.
- Working conditions: With imposter items, you have no way of knowing where they were made, and under what conditions. There are child-labor and myriad other concerns here.
- Scams: You may order something and simply not ever receive it. Even worse, your credit card info can be stolen and misused. In addition to counterfeit items, there are websites that are fakes altogether.
- Intellectual property: Buying a counterfeit item is unfair to the designers and artisans who created the original patterns, materials, and processes.
So, especially when your children’s health and safety is at stake, we encourage you to only buy from trusted sites like Finn + Emma and others you know to be safe (always check for the padlock symbol in your browser window—to ensure that you can pay securely).
For further resources and information on reporting counterfeit items, please visit www.stopfakes.gov. Thanks for your help!