Faux No

I'll just put it out there now: I hate fake bags.  I loathe fake bags so much that I've even lost friends over the subject.  It's a long story, but let's just say that it happened.  I despise the idea of fake and pretend.  I always stood strong on the fact that there were reasonably priced and good-looking alternatives out there.  I never understood why someone would want to risk looking like a poser when they could find another bag that would work even better for their wardrobe and their wallet.  Why not invest $200-300 on a nice Rebecca Minkoff instead of a fake logo bag that will probably fall apart within a month?  All of this was before I realized the bigger implications of fake bags.

Fake bag pile

Do you know what's happening?

There is more child labor, human trafficking, and terrorism in this world due to knock-offs.  Did you know that 7% of the $600 billion in retail is pirated (Harper's Bazaar)?  That's $42 million!  That's a whole lot of money that can supply funds for guns, drugs, or other illegal products and practices.  I don't know about you, but this really frustrates me.  I don't want to think of a small child working endlessly in poor conditions to satisfy a selfish need for vanity.

Child labor

Do you know what else this means?  There seems to be a giant demand for these items.  These items are then produced overseas.  That means $42 million that could potentially be produced in the United States.  It's estimated that 750,000 jobs are sacrificed because of this practice (Harper's Bazaar).  Based on the current economic state, those are jobs we desperately need.

Although it's an older article, I highly recommend reading The Fight against Fakes.  It's well researched and gives the basic facts. 

What are your thoughts on fakes?