The rise of counterfeit cosmetics on online marketplaces poses significant health risks to consumers and challenges to legitimate beauty brands. These fake products often contain harmful ingredients and are produced in unregulated conditions. Kelly McCarthy, Brand Protection Partner notes, “Counterfeit manufacturers can, and do, use anything to make their products in the cheapest way possible. You may think you are purchasing your favorite vegan, plant-based, vitamin-enriched lipstick when, in fact, you are buying a product with heightened amounts of heavy metals or chemical elements like lead or arsenic.”
Here are some tips for consumers to avoid counterfeits when shopping this holiday season:
1) Stick to Official Retailers: Purchase only from the official brand website. This is the only way to confirm that what you are buying is the real product.
2) Verify Packaging: Check for inconsistencies or errors in design and labeling. Often times, there are discrepancies with the real brand packaging and counterfeit packaging such as different shades of colors, font, size, or spelling errors.
3) Be Skeptical of Low Prices: Offers that seem too good to be true often are!
4) Confirm Authenticity: Check batch number verifications provided by trusted brands. While counterfeit goods harm consumers, they also cause long-term damage to brands, jeopardizing their innovation and reputation. Protecting your brand requires action to combat counterfeiting and safeguarding consumer confidence.
Sideman & Bancroft’s Brand Integrity and Innovation Group partners with top beauty brands to provide comprehensive anti-counterfeiting strategies, from online monitoring and investigation management to enforcement actions that secure criminal convictions and substantial asset seizures.
Contact us to learn how we can help your business protect its products, enforce intellectual property rights, and ensure long-term consumer trust.
Visit Sideman & Bancroft’s Brand Integrity and Innovation Group to learn more.
