I have to admit that the more I look into this topic the more frustrated I get with consumers. I don’t understand people like Mrs. Whitman, a frequent buyer in New York City’s Chinatown, and who was quoted in a New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/nyregion/bill-aims-to-make-buying-fake-goods-a-crime-in-new-york.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=knockoffs&st=cse) as saying, “I don’t believe in child labor and I don’t believe in supporting terrorists, but if I want to buy a knockoff, that’s my business.” Isn’t that a case of sticking one’s head in the sand just to get what you want? Can a consumer make a statement like that and then do they convince themselves that they aren’t doing just that?
A second common thought seems to be rooted in resentment toward designer brands costing as much as they do. What I don’t understand is why a person would want to give the impression that they are carrying a handbag created by a company that they resent so much. (e.g., “Best answer” on http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091228082237AA8biUO)
Finally, though my focus when beginning to research this topic was in the area of fashion, I have been surprised by the variety of industries plagued by this problem. I suppose I could have guessed electronics, as we all know that pirated music and videos are released continuously. What I didn’t realize is that items as small as cigarettes and as large as cars come in “knockoff” varieties. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_consumer_goods) And, the most frightening one of all is that pharmaceuticals are counterfeited. The Wikipedia article noted says that an estimated 100,000 people a year die from counterfeit medicines.
I doubt that Mrs. Whitman from Chinatown would feel the same about counterfeit drugs as she does about counterfeit handbags. And how can we say that the designer of a drug has more rights of ownership than the designer of a handbag. Granted it’s an extreme comparison, but is one situation truly any less dishonest?
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