Slipping through the net: SA loses to fakers

How well has the South African economy done in light of the past month's football frenzy? Not as well as it might, according to "Counterfeit World Cup goods dent South African economy", published on CPA Global's New Legal Review (here). Citing a report from the INTA, the article reports that the influx of fake-branded clothing into South Africa has distracted consumers from purchasing indigenous goods, since counterfeits have provided them with a cheaper means of keeping up with fans wearing licensed products.

Figures from the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union suggest that 14,400 jobs have been lost in the country’s textile sector over the past year as a result of World Cup fakes. On a more positive note, in the past six months South African customs authorities have impounded fake World Cup goods worth R66m, (US$8m) -- though there are of course no figures for the fakes that slip through the net.