Trying to Keep it Real in New York City

NEW YORK-- "You like Chanel?" The first thing we hear coming out onto Canal Street in Soho.

"You, come with me." the small Chinese woman said to us.


We followed her to the corner and were directed to walk down the street and told someone else would approach us.


"Who?" I said.

"Just go!"


Another small asian woman with a walkie talkie dragged us into a small store and told us to wait. A man arrived and put numbers on our bags and shirts then opened the back wall of the store to take us to a secret room.


No, this is not a James Bond movie. This just one of the hundreds of underground vendors selling fake designer merchandise in New York City. The trade of illegal goods in New York makes up 8% of this billion dollar industry in the United States, most catering to unsuspecting tourists who do not question the origins of the products.


The truth is, much of the merchandise is the work of child labor and goes to support international organized crime. Vince McGuire, the manager of a brand protection agency Labeltex USA, says that there have been many investigations into this underground industry and many of the vendors have been found to have direct ties to terror organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

" What is usually shown to the public is the tip of the iceberg," he said, "Everyone knows that 90% of an iceberg is under the surface."


He believes that it should be a crime to buy merchandise, fully knowing that it is a knock off. "You are just being plain un-American," he said.


Not only is it a criminal offense to sell the replica goods, also many of the vendors don't pay taxes and the illegal sales take away 750,000 American jobs annually according to the IACC.

"Tourists come to New York and instead of going into a store and buying goods from people who have a license and pay taxes they are taking tax dollars away by going to these vendors on the street." Vivian Verdi, the manager of Bare Escentuals, said.

Mayor Bloomberg has launched a campaign to fight this epidemic and encourage customers to shop at licensed shops in the city. Public awareness ads can be seen around the city telling consumers that many of the counterfeit goods are made with child labor and support organized crime.

Through a combined effort with the NYPD, the city has confiscated over $60 million in counterfeit merchandise and shut down hundreds of illegal vendors through sting operations. It remains to be seen whether their efforts will eventually eradicate the problem but by educating consumers, the city believes that they can at least raise awareness of the immorality of buying fake goods.