'The Fake Trade' Dispatches on Monday

[fluffly]

Apart from disrespect to the designers who have thought about the designs, here is another reason and very big one too why buying fakes is plain wrong.
Chanel 4 is showing Dispatches The fake trade on Monday 8pm UK. It will probably end up in youtube at some point. In the mean time i'll see what i can do but no promises.

[Tefhel]

Oh cool, thanks for telling us! I'll definitely watch that, and if I miss it I'll watch it on 4OD

[fluffly]

I just googled 4od. Thanks for that.

[mozzarella]

is there any chance someone can record this?

[chloehandbags]

Thanks for posting about this, fluffly!

I was just going to do so, myself, as the first part is on in an hour.

I'm going to watch it and will have a pen and a piece of paper to hand and will report back.

Unfortunately (and typically!) the DVD's on the blink (it will only play, not record, for some reason?), so I can't record it, I'm afraid, mozzarella.

I think 4oD would be your best bet:


http://www.channel4.com/4od/index.ht...4od_google_40d

[chloehandbags]

Here's a summary of the first part of the program:


Anti-Counterfeit Conference in Sweden - delegates say that 5 -10% of all items sold in Europe are fake, 20% of cigarettes sold in Germany are fake and that fake electrical goods, such as mobile phones, are being sold in regular shops as authentic.

Although China is the major manufacturer of fakes, companies at the conference are too scared to mention China, as they have most of their products made there and the Chinese government doesn’t like its country being mentioned in relation to fakes.

China's Fake-Selling Shopping Centres - blatantly fake Chloe bags are shown in a massive, counterfeit-selling shopping centre in China. Filming is prohibited, as the Chinese government is supposed to have cracked down on counterfeits; but clearly hasn’t.

Fake Paintings - Van Gogh paintings are shown being faked.

Treorchy, Rhonda Valley, Wales - the location of the last UK factory that Burberry used to manufacture their products (now all Burberry products are manufactured in the Far East). It was the biggest manufacturer in town, with people from 300 families employed there. Kate Moss has been paid £30,000,000 to model for Burberry and yet they claim they can‘t ‘afford’ to keep the Welsh factory open.

Workers from the closed Welsh factory picket the Burberry Bond Street Flagship Store. An ex-worker goes into the store and asks what he can afford for £20. He buys a £19.00, made in China, hair scrunchie with his £20.00 Burberry gift card, which Burberry gave the workers as a Christmas gift! The £19.00 hair scrunchie costs more than the average Chinese worker’s weekly wage, of just £15.00.

Burberry gave the Welsh workers the factory, to try to placate them, as they no longer needed it.

Chinese Fake Factories - 8% of China’s booming economy is from counterfeits.

Skilled Chinese workers are interviewed by an agent for branded product manufacture and those who don’t make the grade are hired by the same agent to work for the illegal counterfeit factories.

As the fake factories are illegal, there are no regulations to protect the workers’ safety.

Counterfeit Detectives - A British ex police detective, who now lives and works in China, was one of the first people hired by foreign companies to investigate fakes. He says foreign companies have been duped by Chinese ‘detectives’ who hang around in bars and offer to work for them, but then act as double agents and sell info about the foreign companies they work for and their products to the Chinese counterfeiters.

Fake Foodstuffs - fake eggs that are made in moulds and contain industrial chemicals that cause dementia, are sold as real in Chinese supermarkets.

The Extent of Fake Infiltration - in the last 10 years, fakes have flooded every continent. Fakes of everything - from fake bags, to fake Ferrero Rocher, to fake software, to fake Nikes, to deadly fake medicines, etc.

Copying Methods - counterfeiters no longer need the blueprints of items to fake them, they can just obtain the product, pull it apart and produce the fake from the parts.

Rural Chinese Fake Production - fake items (e.g. toothpaste, strip lights etc.) are also made in rural communities. Although illegal, rural factories are protected as they are vital to the local economy.

America and Europe Viewed As 'the enemy' - according to a Chinese man involved in recruiting workers for the fake factories, many Chinese people were taught at school that America and Europe are the enemy and that they did the most damage to China and many Chinese people, therefore, see fakes as a form of revenge on America and Europe for what they view as industrial bullying tactics.

Child Labour in Fake Factories - a detective raiding a Chinese factory for Adidas thought there must be a crèche at the factory, as he heard young childrens’ voices, but the voices were coming from the little child workers themselves, who were working in terrible conditions.

Government Corruption - the detective also spoke of government corruption, with Communist party leaders running the fake factories.

Adidas has now given up on raiding fake-making factories, altogether, as there are just too many of them.

The Transporting of Chinese Fake Parts (to be constructed in other countries by illegal immigrants) - Chinese fake factories can also be located outside China. In Peckham, England, a fake DVD factory, with fake DVDs including those of bestial porn with dogs and horses and run by illegal immigrants, is raided. Factories in Europe are used to assemble various fake items from parts made in China. £800,000,000 per year is made from people-smuggling (from China to the UK); illegal Chinese immigrants are made to pay back the smugglers by assembling fakes.

Kate Moss for Topshop - the range is based on inspired-by pieces from her designer wardrobe, all items are made in Chinese factories.

Fashionable Fakes - knock-offs themselves have become fashionable. A collagen-lipped woman, who, quite frankly, looks as though she has had a lot of 'work' done, is shown (with her equally fake-looking LV), being botoxed and saying that if she waited 6 months (for the sales) to buy a designer bag it would be out of fashion, so that’s why she buys fakes.

Bazaar Magazine’s Anti-Fake Website Launch for www.fakesareneverinfashion.com - Zimmerman, a customs officer, is shown calling for help. 400 kilos of counterfeit medicine is seized in the UK during a one month period; including potentially lethal fake Viagra and breast cancer medication.

The Value of Fakes - the fake industry is worth 500 billion US dollars per year. More money is made from selling 1 kilo of counterfeit CDs, than 1 kilo of marijuana.

[heather123]

What a bummer! I missed this because I watched David Attenborough's series on reptiles on BBC1 at 9!

[bellabird]

Wow, I have to find that on you tube. Thanks for the information. I learn so much on tpf.

[heather123]

Chloehandbags, thanks a million for that link and excellent summary of the prog!

[windycityaj]

I will look for this. Sounds interesting!

[geri1965]

Part 2 of this is on next week - should be interesting.

I had no idea there was such a thing as fake eggs.

[rothjess]

The fake eggs thing is crazy! Thanks so much for posting this and the fantastic summary.

[wordbox]

Thanks for typing that summary up! Very interesting. If anyone finds a way to watch it, please post the link!

[tuna lala]

Fake eggs? Fake Viagra? What?

[canadianstudies]

thanks for the notes

(and i agree with the above poster- fake eggs? wtf??)