Over 1 in 5 UK adults admit to buying counterfeit fashion
Results of a new survey have revealed that 22% of people have knowingly bought counterfeit fashion items, with a further 10% saying they may have bought a fake item but could not be sure.
The results were taken from an online survey of over 2,000 UK adults commissioned by luxury fashion resale site VestiaireCollective.com and YouGov to ascertain the nation’s attitudes towards counterfeit fashion.
Only 34% of people questioned said they were certain that they had never purchased fake fashion. The most common counterfeit items those surveyed admitted to buying were ‘designer’ handbags and fake designer sunglasses and watches.
Reasons given for buying fake fashion included avoiding paying designer prices and buying items online which appeared to be genuine but were actually fake. In addition, 2% of respondents said that they would buy a fake item to emulate the style of a celebrity or someone they admired.
Never Miss a Retail Update!People in the 25-34 age group were the most likely to knowingly buy fakes, with 24% saying they had bought counterfeit items. The over 55s were the least likely to shop for counterfeit items, with only 13% saying they had bought something they knew was not genuine.
Sarah Bush, UK marketing director of Vestiaire Collective said: “Some people are complacent about buying ‘fake fashion’, seeing it as a chance to get an expensive look at a cheap price. But fake items can’t match the real deal for quality and craftsmanship – with a designer item you are investing in something which will look great and last for years to come.”
In February 2012 Vestiaire Collective signed a charter against the sale of counterfeit goods with luxury brands including Céline, YSL, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermès.
