INSIGHTS

Over the years, we have become a society of consumption where we spend more on buying new products than on recycling or repairing our belongings. One should ask: do we need to spend a large of money on a designer handbag than nobody will notice whether it is an authentic bag or a good replica. As bad as it sounds should you attempt to buy fake designer handbags? Buying replica bags isn’t a bad idea after all. We should look at from a functional point of view, replica bags have the same function than the authentic ones: carrying our everyday personal items. When we discuss the for/against arguments of counterfeits, sometimes consumers are able to find the manufactured product and buy the same for much cheaper than the brand is selling it for. Buying directly from Chinese manufacturers, gives consumers the ability to remove the middleman- in this case the brand -and buy the replica same at a lower price. When it comes to Chinese manufacturers, we can have an opinion fuelled of fabricated stereotypes. It's worth pointing out that not every factory in China is a mud bath of forced labour. The working environment of China and other Asian countries facilitates ‘flexible employment regulations’ set in part by Western companies. However, there are also plenty of ethical, clean factories run by responsible business owners. And who’s to say Gucci Louis Vuitton and the rest are treating their workers fairly? We don’t know what their factories look like. No one said they have great working conditions. We assume they do. Due to the prestige, these companies carry, no one would question their work ethics. They might be exploiting their staff. They probably pay their workers pennies for the bag and charge us $2000 plus. Louis Vuitton pays its staff $11/hour whilst selling its sought after bags for $ 4000. Is there any form of ethical consumption under capitalism? It's fair to compare the ethicality of Nike, Adidas, etc to Chinese counterfeit factories. These brands are unethical. Some of their materials are sourced from forced/child labour like Uzbek cotton. Most of them are young people from villages working in the city. Some are supporting entire families on these wages. A lot of high-end goods made in Europe are made by underpaid and exploited Chinese immigrant labour. Some brands literally import Chinese workers so they can keep their "made in Italy" or whatever branding. Only a certain amount of the labor needs to actually occur in Italy or where ever for it to be labelled as such, so if you think many luxury brands aren't outsourcing as much labour and materials as they possibly can while still maintaining their "luxury branding," you're wrong. As much as we don’t like to talk about that, the replica fashion industry has a significant positive economic impact. Replica factories provide employment to the most vulnerable of our society. To say that "Made in China" equals unethical and that in comparison ‘made in’ a western country equals to the highest standards of production is fulfilling the essence of western propaganda. The mainstream media in the like of Buzzfeed perpetuates discrimination towards China based on ill information. Buzzfeed is always pushing "lists" of products that are being sold by Chinese companies at " super affordable" prices. Isn't that ironic? Many claims have been made to discredit replica handbags. An expert in money laundering -who would like to remain anonymous- explained to us that replica producers are not considered in the pipeline for money laundering, which includes terrorist financing as Buzzfeed tried to convey on its videos. The perspective of a brighter future will fade down if these replica goods factories shut. The weird condescending passive-aggressive racism is getting really old. Why are they so loud for? Western high-end fashion companies do not want competitiveness from low-end fashion companies. They want to be desirable, the more people buy from them, the more they become covetable. It sets a clear line between those that can afford designer handbags and those who don’t. The replica designer handbag industry has responded to the needs of those we have overlooked. Some people can afford to buy one authentic designer bag but difficult to buy some more. They still want to be fashionable by owning a collection of designer bags. Most of us have bills to pay which represent a large percentage of our income. It comes to our mind that companies such as Gucci, Hermes or Louis Vuitton might choose to look down on quality. Has it ever cross your mind? Traveling abroad can be risky especially if you cannot afford to pay for insurance. Wearing a replica to travel or go to the beach, you know you will not need to worry it might be stolen or damaged. Purchasing a good quality replica helps you save money for your next venture money. Did you know authentic designer handbags increase in line with inflation? People covet designer bags because they are status symbols and I bet that if a Chanel purse costs $50, fewer people would care. People who claim they "just like the design, not for the name" and buy replicas because they can't afford the authentic style. We all know they just want to come off as wealthy with these status symbols without actually paying for them. It's understandable. Any manufactured product at a large scale you buy nowadays exploits the poor, whether it's a counterfeit bag from China, or a real authentic Chanel straight from the boutique. So, with that in mind, we would much rather save some money and just buy a replica bag that looks exactly the same as the authentic for 90% off. The increased profit margin that comes from driving up the price and paying as little as one can to manufacture the goods only serves to increase the net worth of those at the top of the company and their shareholders. Someone is being exploited. Unless you get goods handmade by someone and you know exactly where the raw materials came from, you’re probably supporting a business that exploits people.

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