Unifab and its partners are today encouraging consumers to buy genuine products and combat the nasty surprises of counterfeiting, with the launch of their consumer awareness campaign.
The Comité National Anti-Contrefaçon, the Customs, the INPI, the Gendarmerie and the Police are jointly unveiling the content of this wide-ranging campaign, with advice aimed at all citizens – from Cannes Town Hall.
To combat the proliferation of counterfeit products, 20.48 million of which were intercepted by customs in 2023, the major players in the world of authentic products are joining forces to warn the public of the dangers to which they are exposing themselves by consuming counterfeit goods.
The edifying facts and figures that reflect the current situation need to be highlighted and raise the collective awareness of as many people as possible, particularly with regard to :
the impact on the economy, which is showing astronomical losses in France, with losses of 6.7 billion euros a year and more than 38,000 jobs lost. This phenomenon, which represents 2. 5% of world trade, extends to all the European States, which lose 15 billion euros in public revenue every year.
The consequences for the environment are also significant, with the discharge of toxic waste into the environment, for example, by the lack of virtuous manufacturing conditions for these illegal products and their manufacture thousands of kilometres away, resulting in a disastrous carbon footprint,
the health and safety of consumers, 34% of whom have already been duped into buying a counterfeit on the Internet, thinking they were acquiring a genuine good, is a real issue.
Fake products are always synonymous with unpleasant surprises, which is why “counterfeiting is bogus” is the slogan that will be promoted by Unifab and disseminated by its partners, as well as its support in cities with JCDecaux and digitally with Facebook / Instagram, Snapchat, Google and eBay, which are helping to inform the public by placing banners on their platforms.
Unifab is also taking advantage of this official launch to make specific recommendations to political decision-makers, such as stepping up the measures put in place by offering its support to operational agents from customs, the police and the gendarmerie, demanding a frank response from e-commerce platforms by proactively deleting illegal ads, and taking political and regulatory action on the part of governments by prioritising intellectual property offences that harm the economy, the environment and consumer confidence. Between the years 2022 and 2023, a survey of a representative sample of 25 companies from all business sectors showed that 42.5 million illegal ads were removed.
The 2024 campaign is an opportunity to get involved in the fight against counterfeiting in a new way, thanks in particular to the page dedicated to consumers hosted on the Unifab website, and to be a seasoned buyer by testing your knowledge in a quiz.
CONSUMER ADVICE AND QUIZ > Click here
