Data from the recent study by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Europeans' perception of counterfeiting have raised concerns among the Association for the Defence of the Brand (ANDEMA) and the National Association of Perfumery and Cosmetics (STANPA). Both associations stress the need to build a society of responsible consumers who are aware of the harms and dangers of counterfeit products, starting with education.
This year's report, entitled "European citizens' perception, awareness and behaviour towards intellectual property", published by EUIPO, reveals that 20% of Spaniards admit to having intentionally bought counterfeit products in the last year, an increase of 15% compared to 2020, when the previous edition of the study was conducted. Spain ranks as the second European country with the second highest deliberate consumption of counterfeits, behind Bulgaria (24%). Gerard Guiu, director general of ANDEMA, highlights the concern about the steady increase in these data in recent years. He also emphasises that, according to a study carried out a year ago, 49% of Spaniards aged between 15 and 24 admitted to having bought counterfeits intentionally, again exceeding the European average of 13%.
According to the report presented today, 80% of Spaniards are fully aware of the harm that counterfeits cause to both the economy and consumer safety. Respondents say they strongly or somewhat agree that counterfeits support criminal organisations (84%), harm businesses and destroy jobs (80%) and encourage unethical behaviour (82%).
Guiu comments that "it seems that we are gradually making the population aware of what lies behind counterfeits, but there is still a conscious percentage of the population that chooses to buy these products. We need to educate, starting from childhood, to form a society of responsible consumers in all aspects. By including it in school curricula, children now learn about recycling, road safety and healthy living habits; we must get them to reject counterfeits as well. If there is no demand, the supply will disappear.
For the Spaniards, the main reason not to buy fakes is his contribution to the promotion of the criminal activity by part of the criminal organisations, followed of the damage to the original products and the risks for the security and the health. Val Díez, general director of STANPA, affirms that "the problem of the fakes does not limit to the damage to a mark, as it could seem, but has a grave economic impact, social and of health".
In the case of perfumes and cosmetics, products that are in contact with our skin for hours, Stanpa's technical director, Pilar García, warns us that "counterfeit perfumes are a fraud, they have a very different composition to the originals and include industrial solvents, toxic or prohibited components, something that is very serious for the health of our skin". The EUIPO study also reveals that 4 out of 10 Spaniards have ever wondered if they have unintentionally bought a counterfeit product.