Apparels with labels mentioning the manufacturingcountry has a special value in the market based on the country it is made. Whatif these labels are fake themselves?
A survey report states that 7 out of 10 surveyed consumerssay that they prefer to buy counterfeit apparels. Current market for 'lookalike' products, which are cheaper than the original ones are soaring. They arepassed on as real goods. A few days before, Nigerian authorities confiscated ashipment of drugs which had fake 'made in India' labels. Currently, apparelsthat are manufactured in China with a fake 'Made in India' label are sold inthe Nigerian markets.
China is one of the world's largest exporters of textiles, and apparels witha 25% market share. Cotton, silk, manmade yarn and woolen garments are beingexported in large volumes to Nigeria from China. Counterfeit products arerampant in China and are also being sold in other countries at an unbelievablyless price. Fake garments with poor quality are made in China and are being tagged as Indian made and are sold in the apparel markets in Nigeria. They are inferior in quality and are sold at a fraction of the price of originalgoods. The stitching is of poor quality and fine details regarding the garmentwill be missing.
Unlike drugs with a misleading label, a garment with a fake 'madein' label is not harmful to anyone. But the quality of those garments affectsthe volume of apparel exports from India. Due to fake Chinese products being sold in the market, Indian apparel exports have declined from Rs.224.7 crore in2006-07 to Rs.119.2 crore during 2007-08.
Indian apparel exports prove to be disappointing during therecent years. The deterioration stems due to a weak demand in the global marketpartly due to recession, and to a certain extent due to the surge of Chineseclothing in the market. China's exports to US surged after the removal ofquotas. Now with Chinese clothing available in the market with a fake 'made in India' label, the exports are likely to get affected more deeply. The Government of Indiahas raised a strong protest against the fake Chinese products with the Chineseembassy in New Delhi. Further it has also brought this issue to the notice of China's foreign trade ministry in Beijing.
Counterfeits are going up the ante, and are making sizableprofit margins out to these goods. The best way to spot a fake garment isthrough its material. These garments are made using cheap and inferiormaterials in comparison to genuine clothing. Strict actions should be taken torestrict illegal manufacturing and selling for counterfeited products.
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