French Luxury Trade Groups Push Back Against Social Media Counterfeiters
Over the last week, The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, Comité Colbert and the Union des Fabricants (UNIFAB), the French association for promoting and defending intellectual property, have circulated a position paper to French and European policymakers calling for 'immediate action' to stop an 'unprecedented widespread disinformation campaign' about the origin of luxury goods.
The call to action is in response to the viral spread of content posted on TikTok and other social media platforms over the last few weeks, suggesting that European luxury goods from brands like Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton are manufactured in China before being relabelled as 'Made in France' or 'Made in Italy.'
The videos, which pose a serious fake news problem for luxury brands, were posted by creators claiming to be Chinese manufacturers responding to the prospect of sky-high US tariffs by offering American consumers the opportunity to buy cut-price luxury knock offs.
'It's a flagrant case of promoting counterfeiting,' said FHCM executive president Pascal Morand. 'It is misleading and deceiving consumers.'
UNIFAB, Comité Colbert and FHCM have pushed for policymakers to strengthen measures aimed at banning the spread of such content and called for international cooperation to prevent its distribution.
'[It is] imperative to put an end to this defamatory disinformation about the entire luxury industry,' the position paper said. 'This defamation occurs in an uncertain geopolitical and economic context and severely harms the preservation of intellectual property, which is the only guarantee of product authenticity for consumers and investment in innovation and the preservation of jobs in Europe.'
Learn more:
Luxury Has a Fake News Problem. Is Silence the Right Strategy?
Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton are among the luxury megabrands that have largely remained quiet amid a flood of viral TikToks falsely suggesting their bags are made in China.
Disclosure: LVMH is part of a group of investors who, together, hold a minority interest in The Business of Fashion. All investors have signed shareholders' documentation guaranteeing BoF's complete editorial independence.
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