Issue Date: June 29, 2003
Buying knockoffs is a slippery slope
If you've ever shopped on the Web for Gucci or Prada or any high-end designer, you've no doubt landed in the world of knockoffs. A Google search will turn up legitimate retailers along with sites claiming to sell "inspired by" purses at a fraction of the cost.
I visited a few sites, with names like Anyknockoff.com, lady-bag.com and Designer Style for Less (dsforless.com), because I coveted a Kate Spade bag but couldn't afford one. On these sites, a Kate Spade-"inspired" purse cost $17 to $59. I ordered one: It had no label (Kate Spade or otherwise) and an interior zipper-pull was missing, so it's not up to Spade standards, but I do like the bag. Should I feel smug about saving money or guilty about breaking the law? Isn't imitation a form of flattery?
No, says Barbara Kolsun, senior vice president and general counsel for Kate Spade LLC: "The site is stealing our name to get traffic."
Turns out I didn't break any laws. (If the site claimed to sell authentic bags, it would be breaking copyright laws.) But that doesn't mean the purchase left me feeling guiltless. "If you can't afford a Kate Spade bag," Kolsun suggests, "buy something else. That bag was probably made in a sweatshop by children."
Mitch Clow, international trade specialist for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, says most knockoff apparel is made abroad, usually in China. "You don't know where your money is going," Clow says. It's certainly to a company that doesn't pay taxes, and worse, he says, "Law enforcement believes counterfeiting and piracy fund organized crime and terrorism."
The authentic version of the bag I got retails for $170 at Neiman Marcus (neimanmarcus.com). Katespade.com -- or your favorite designer's Web site -- can help you spot a knockoff online or in the real world. Next time, I'll save up and get the real deal.
-- Christina Wood
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