How easy is it to buy counterfeit goods in Ireland?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Now, earlier this week on the programme, we reported on the flammability of the counterfeit football jerseys that flooded the market during World Cup fever. Well, in order to find out just how widespread counterfeit goods are in general here in Ireland, we set our own reporter, Sarah Madden, the task of finding as many counterfeit goods as she could in just one day. And back from her underworld investigation into counterfeit Ireland, she joins me in the studio now. Good morning, Sarah. Good morning, Ciara. So you've been on the hunt for fakes. What did you find?
How did the Clare Byrne Show set out to investigate counterfeit goods in Ireland?
How did you get on? Well, I got on scarily well, Ciara. I couldn't believe how easy it was to find counterfeit goods across all sectors. Now, of course, there was things that I expected to find, like designer clothing and accessories. But there was also things I didn't even realise could be faked, like food, like drink, wine, whiskey, etc. Now, to be clear, I didn't go ahead and purchase any of this. There's no fake wine in the studio. I don't have any bogus bags with me. But counterfeit goods and fakes are increasingly prevalent in the modern shopping experience. And other people have unfortunately been hoodwinked by the fraud.
Yeah, I've seen a lot of bags and clothes on AliExpress as well, just loads of counterfeit like brands and stuff and like the logos and all look the same.
Recently I bought a tube of skincare stuff online that I'd bought in person before and it came and it was different packaging and I realized it was fake. Wow. I know, it was kind of gutting.
I know football shirts being worn, for instance, that are copies. But I can understand that because the bigger teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, you can pay up to €150 for a jersey. And most of the people that support football teams are working class people. More than half a day's pay, you know. I might buy a fake pair of sunglasses because then I'm like, oh, if I lose them, it's fine. But with apps like Vinted, people are selling the real thing, but it's secondhand. I'd prefer to get something secondhand knowing it's real than new and fake. I know Charlotte Tilbury has just come out and slated dupes and said, oh, it's not real and all that. When you actually look at the ingredients, they're very, very similar and I think a lot of people are kind of copping on to that now and they don't want to pay the same for something that just has a name when they're actually looking at the ingredients.
I consider a victimless crime being perfectly honest. Maybe it's a peculiar take on it, but boys on top of enough money under the bed.
So I have to go back a second to the fake food.
What are you talking about? Well, it's really interesting. There's obviously some products that are at a premium. So things like champagne and caviar, fake versions of those are available to be bought online. The ones that affect Ireland mostly, I suppose, would be things like sold abroad, fake grass fed Irish butter. Because, you know, Kerrygold has really put Irish butter on the map. So things like, yes, fake Irish fed butter. And then also wine is a really interesting one. So the bottles, they might use the bottles that are true to that brand of wine, that family of wine, fake labels. And then there'll be something in it, which is probably the equivalent of vinegar. It's fascinating.
Wow. I mean, what was also fascinating, we spoke about this earlier in the week, was the figures around this. I mean, as a global industry, they are startling.
It's really significant.
What surprising categories of counterfeit items did the reporter find in one day?
The global trade in fakes is estimated to be about 467 billion US dollars. And then if you look at the EU, nearly 5% of all imports are actually counterfeit. Here in Ireland, we regularly hear reports, we regularly report on successful seizures here on News Talk. Earlier this summer, cash phones and clothes worth 114,000 were seized in Dublin. But intellectual property experts, they'll also talk about losses incurred from counterfeiting. For example, 15 billion is lost in taxes and social security annually across Europe.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:42
2
How did the Clare Byrne Show set out to investigate counterfeit goods in Ireland?
0:42–3:24
3
What surprising categories of counterfeit items did the reporter find in one day?
3:24–13:45
4
How prevalent is the global and EU trade in counterfeit goods and what are the Irish seizure examples?
13:45–15:20