2/22/10

If you can't afford it, don't buy it

This post is completely irrelevant to my blog. But I think it's something that people should be aware of if they aren't already. I would like it if you can help me spread this awareness. 

"No one utters a word, not a sound, as I recall the raid I went on with Chinese police in a tenement in Guangzhou and what we discovered when we walked in: two dozen sad, tired, dirty children, ages 8 to 14, making fake Dunhill, Versace and Hugo Boss handbags on old, rusty sewing machines. It was like something out of Dickens, “Oliver Twist” in the 21st century."

Counterfeit items have become uncontrollable. I pass by canal street and every time I do, I will see people standing on the streets holding their catalogues illustrated with fake gucci, coach, and LV bags while they hawk down tourists. "Gucci, gucci, coach, coach." Their broken english rolls off their tongue. Once they catch a buyer or two (or five) they will lead them to underground shops. And after a few minutes, the buyers emerge out with black plastic bags.

I was always annoyed with this situation that has gone to the extreme. But after reading this article, it has just turned to frustration.

"Then I read the following passage from my book, “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster.” “ ‘I remember walking into an assembly plant in Thailand a couple of years ago and seeing six or seven little children, all under 10 years old, sitting on the floor assembling counterfeit leather handbags,’ an investigator told me … ‘The owners had broken the children’s legs and tied the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn’t mend. [They] did it because the children said they wanted to go outside and play.’ ”

If you buy a counterfeit item, you might just be contributing to child labor or human trafficking or even terrorism and it is illegal. And to please also respect the designer.

article here

4 comments:

Aya said...

Yeah, this actually is a BIG issue for me. On a personal level, and then everything else after it.

First of all (this comment will be mostly rambling sorry), I understand that people are most of the time ignorant and don't understand where these products are coming from. I mean, if they did, I'm sure most people wouldn't buy them. But then it's really our duty as a people to know about these things. Some things I think can be very bias and one sided, but counterfeiting has been going on for a long time and people know a lot of it is affecting people in third world nations negatively. More people just need to be aware.

Secondly, counterfeit goods no after how real they look are fake, so if you're a fan, why not save up for the real or just look at pictures? I understand people want to appear rich and have the brands they want, but shelling out money on something that in the long run will break and hurt other people doesn't seem worth it.

This is a really tough call though because apart from moral issues, there's still the fact that people actually make a living out of this (it's easy to say find another job, but not easy to make it happen). Also, this is actually free advertising for some brands, so they actually let it slide. It's all super complicated.

But I agree that on moral levels, something should be done about the situations and the facilities that these children work.

And sorry for this crazy long comment. I swear I'm not usually this long winded (lies)

Leanne Lai Ying said...

ergh i find this disgusting.
poor children.

fake bags arent even worth it, people who buy them make me a little bit sick. -_-

Sarah said...

I feel completely ignorant after reading this post. I'm not the type of person with designer bags on my mind, or fake designer bags either, but thanks for sharing this. I feel enlightened now!

-Sarah

-elle♡ said...

this is so heartbreaking...poor children</3