Product Counterfeiting Puts Consumer Safety at Risk
Underwriters Laboratories Plays Key Role in Global Anti-Counterfeiting Efforts
Counterfeiters cashing in on consumer goods go beyond fake Fendi purses and Rolex watches to make their money. Today’s counterfeiters are ripping off everything from electronics to pharmaceuticals to toothpaste.
Product counterfeiting is a thriving multi-billion dollar global industry. It is highly profitable and the risks of significant legal consequences are low. The profits of product counterfeiting have been shown to fund other organized criminal activities.
For consumers, it means increased health and safety risks, purchasing inferior products, and job loss. In the United States alone, it is estimated that the crime of counterfeiting has caused the loss of more than 750,000 jobs.
“As a world leader in product safety testing, UL understands its responsibility to take counterfeiters to task,” said John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager, Underwriters Laboratories (UL). “About 21 billion UL Marks appear on products entering the marketplace each year. Based on our experience, only a small fraction are potentially counterfeit. But even one counterfeit UL Mark is too many given the consumer safety risk.”
Impact of counterfeiting
“Counterfeiters will copy and sell anything that turns a profit without regard to quality, safety or the law,” said Brian Monks, anti-counterfeiting operations vice president, UL. “They’re criminals, and everyone feels the pinch — consumers, manufacturers, retailers, communities and entire economies.”
For consumers, the biggest threat is personal safety. Products are rigorously tested according to strict UL requirements, being evaluated for potential risk of fir ...