Fashion on the Agenda at L.A. Anti-Counterfeit Event
Fashion-industry executives will discuss the impact of the sale of counterfeit goods on the apparel industry at an Aug. 22 seminar in downtown Los Angeles.
“The True Cost of Fashion Counterfeiting,” co-sponsored by the California Fashion Association and the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District will address the cost of counterfeit sales on legitimate businesses and efforts to fight piracy in the apparel industry.
U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard will provide opening remarks for the event, which will include a panel of experts and a question-and-answer session.
Panelists include Kris Buckner of Investigative Consultants, Ron Perilman of Tummy Tuck Jeans Inc., Michael Rosen of Michael Stars Inc., Douglas Lipstone of Buchalter Nemer LLP and Bobby Hines of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The event is hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is part of a week-long series of events sponsored by the Chamber to put the spotlight on counterfeiting and piracy in several industries, including fashion, luxury goods, film and music.
The event, which will target both consumers and businesspeople, will demonstrate the impact of counterfeiting on local jobs and local industries, as well as consumer health and safety.
“Counterfeiting is costing the California fashion industry in a big way, hurting large and small designers alike and costing the industry billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs a year,” said Rob Calia, senior manager of the Chamber’s anti-counterfeiting and piracy initiative.
“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Counterfeiting and Piracy Awareness Week aims to help turn the tide of this growing problem by providing Los Angeles–area businesses with the knowledge and resources they need to fight back while engaging key city, state, and federal leaders on this important issue.”
The Los Angeles event marks the first time the Chamber has hosted such a large-scale event. The organization has held one-day anti-counterfeiting events in the past but chose to draw attention to the impact on counterfeiting on Southern California’s businesses. In 2005, counterfeiting and piracy are estimated to have contributed to the loss of 106,000 jobs, $2 billion in retail sales and $483 million in tax revenue, according to a report released earlier this year by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. —Alison A. Nieder
