- Nokia Blames Counterfeits (The Telegraph)
- Fake Anti-Malarials Hit the Market (The East African)
- Johnson & Johnson and the Case of Diversion Diversion (PharmaFraud)
- 3 Steps to Avoid Fake Meds Online
- iPhone nano?
- China Steps up Efforts to Cleanse Reputation (New York Times)
- Counterfeit Viagra from China Prompts Warnings in India (Earth Times)
- Helping Patients Avoid Counterfeit Drugs Over the Internet (FDA)
- China Jails Man Who Sold Fake J&J Diabetes Test Strips (Bloomberg)
- Fake Medications are a Growing Threat (U.S. News & World Report)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
news roundup, ed. 9
Cheap Chocolate Will Cost Your Appetite
Most people would probably agree with me in saying that while premium chocolates are divine, a good cheap candy bar now and then is a life necessity.
Then again, I am willing to sacrifice a few extra bills to keep worms out of my chocolates--the appalling truth South Korean consumers were welcomed by after unwrapping 'Made in China' chocolates this week.
Right now, we're loving Sir Hans Sloane chocolates of London, an exclusive brand that makes premium organic blends of our favorite confection.
Then again, I am willing to sacrifice a few extra bills to keep worms out of my chocolates--the appalling truth South Korean consumers were welcomed by after unwrapping 'Made in China' chocolates this week.
Right now, we're loving Sir Hans Sloane chocolates of London, an exclusive brand that makes premium organic blends of our favorite confection.
"Before Models Can Turn Around, Knockoffs Fly"
With the design piracy bill in America being introduced in the Senate, knockoff fashion has been getting a lot of press. The New York Times just ran a story on the effect technology, which has increased the ease of quickly copying a garment, has had on the fashion industry.
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Excerpt:
“For me, this is not simply about copying,” said Anna Sui, one of more than 20 designers who have filed lawsuits against Forever 21, one of the country’s fastest-growing clothing chains, for selling what they claim are copies of their apparel. “The issue is also timing. These copies are hitting the market before the original versions do.”
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Full Story Here
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Excerpt:
“For me, this is not simply about copying,” said Anna Sui, one of more than 20 designers who have filed lawsuits against Forever 21, one of the country’s fastest-growing clothing chains, for selling what they claim are copies of their apparel. “The issue is also timing. These copies are hitting the market before the original versions do.”
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Full Story Here
Reactions to Dana Thomas' New York Times Piece
After publishing "Terror's Purse Strings," an op-ed where Newsweek's Dana Thomas discussed the paramilitary connection to counterfeiters, the New York Time's received some interesting responses. Be sure to check out Thomas' new book, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre, now out in bookstores.
To the Editor:
In ''Terror's Purse Strings'' (Op-Ed, Aug. 30), Dana Thomas says the counterfeit handbags for sale here may have been made by child laborers in China .
I live in Westport, Conn., where ownership of the correct handbag is essential, and I'm lucky enough to be able to afford it. But each season, as I walk the Marc Jacobs or Prada to the register, I look at the price tag, become queasy and just say no.
I am an admitted hypocrite who goes in for designer furniture and status automobiles. These luxury items are used for at least several years, so I somehow rationalize their purchase. The designer bag is used for one season and then its panache is no more.
Perhaps Ms. Thomas can help more directly by creating a new movement -- call it the ''re-use last year's handbag movement.'' For one season, we don't buy a bag. (Hey, we're breadwinners, give birth and raise children -- so we can handle the self-deprivation. )
Then we donate the price of a new bag ($800 to $4,500) to a charitable group that focuses on Chinese child laborers. That may do a lot more good than running out to buy original Gucci bags.
Westport, Conn., Aug. 30, २००७
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To the Editor:
As the quality of luxury goods diminishes, how much difference is there between the fakes and the real things? No wonder shoppers willingly admit to buying fakes.
I certainly don't want to support terrorists, but as designers try to make more and more money by cutting costs the prices border on extortion -- not that anyone ''needs'' a designer label।
Nutley, N.J., Aug. 30, २००७
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To the Editor:
Dana Thomas says ''counterfeiting rackets are run by crime syndicates that also deal in narcotics, weapons, child prostitution, human trafficking and terrorism.''
But as the Wal-Mart phenomenon has illustrated, everyone likes a bargain and for the most part is disinterested in the source of production.
With the profits of the big designers bordering on the usurious, and constant media images of glamorous women toting expensive designer bags, the idea of owning a few is, of course, rather seductive. Yet women might be persuaded not to buy the counterfeit bags if the real ones were not so ridiculously expensive.
It comes down to a purely economic choice: $20 for a rip-off or hundreds for the real thing?
Valparaiso, Ind., Aug. 30, २००७
-----------------------------------------
To the Editor:
In ''Terror's Purse Strings'' (Op-Ed, Aug. 30), Dana Thomas says the counterfeit handbags for sale here may have been made by child laborers in China .
I live in Westport, Conn., where ownership of the correct handbag is essential, and I'm lucky enough to be able to afford it. But each season, as I walk the Marc Jacobs or Prada to the register, I look at the price tag, become queasy and just say no.
I am an admitted hypocrite who goes in for designer furniture and status automobiles. These luxury items are used for at least several years, so I somehow rationalize their purchase. The designer bag is used for one season and then its panache is no more.
Perhaps Ms. Thomas can help more directly by creating a new movement -- call it the ''re-use last year's handbag movement.'' For one season, we don't buy a bag. (Hey, we're breadwinners, give birth and raise children -- so we can handle the self-deprivation. )
Then we donate the price of a new bag ($800 to $4,500) to a charitable group that focuses on Chinese child laborers. That may do a lot more good than running out to buy original Gucci bags.
Westport, Conn., Aug. 30, २००७
-----------------------------------------
To the Editor:
As the quality of luxury goods diminishes, how much difference is there between the fakes and the real things? No wonder shoppers willingly admit to buying fakes.
I certainly don't want to support terrorists, but as designers try to make more and more money by cutting costs the prices border on extortion -- not that anyone ''needs'' a designer label।
Nutley, N.J., Aug. 30, २००७
-----------------------------------------
To the Editor:
Dana Thomas says ''counterfeiting rackets are run by crime syndicates that also deal in narcotics, weapons, child prostitution, human trafficking and terrorism.''
But as the Wal-Mart phenomenon has illustrated, everyone likes a bargain and for the most part is disinterested in the source of production.
With the profits of the big designers bordering on the usurious, and constant media images of glamorous women toting expensive designer bags, the idea of owning a few is, of course, rather seductive. Yet women might be persuaded not to buy the counterfeit bags if the real ones were not so ridiculously expensive.
It comes down to a purely economic choice: $20 for a rip-off or hundreds for the real thing?
Valparaiso, Ind., Aug. 30, २००७
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