Toys, fashion and cosmetics lose $1.5 billion a year in Spain due to counterfeit goods

Therefore only industries toy, fashion And cosmetics they stop entering more than once every year 1.5 billion Euros are being paid in Spain for the distribution of pirated copies of their products, according to the latest research conducted by. EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, its English acronym) highlights the economic impact of this activity. According to the same report, this decrease in income is also a social impact, as it causes losses for more than one person. 15,000 jobs Annual sales that can be created in these sectors if these sales are legal products.

In particular, after analyzing data for the period between 2018 and 2021, EUIPO concluded that fashion The country that suffers most from this scourge in absolute terms is the estimated impact More than €1,000 million, equivalent to 3.7% of sales Figures representing some losses when translated into annual employment of this sector across the country 11,200 jobs.

Brands from their own perspective cosmetics sales decreased by up to 5.5% Piracy of perfumes or make-up causes around 3,600 people to lose their jobs every year, with an estimated value of €398 million.

But this toy Which is relatively gets the worst part According to a report by Alicante-based Euroagency. In this case, counterfeit products represent 11.1% of the market; One in ten toys sold in Spain is fakeThis represents an impact of €113 million and 235 jobs.

“Forgeries a real costEUIPO’s director general emphasizes: “For consumers, for brands and for our economy.” João NegroIt highlights the work carried out by this community body in collaboration with Europol, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Commission to detect and put an end to fraud in the EU.

In this context, Euroagency points out that EU consumers’ awareness and perception of counterfeit products is a very important variable in this problem. Thus, another EUIPO study published in June last year revealed that: A third of Europeans think it is acceptable to buy fake products When the price of the original product is too high. A figure exceeding 50 percent among young people.

Additionally, this new study is based on data from a study. Joint report of EUIPO and Europol The fact that it focuses on more than one crime also shows that crimes against intellectual property are linked to other serious crimes.

European data

The report shows that fraud in these three sectors at European level 16 billion euros annually what causes this approximately 200,000 job losses across the continent. this again toy It is the country exposed to the highest percentage of copies, as piracy equals 8.7% of its turnover across Europe. They reach double digits in more than half of the EU countries. Malta (16.2%), Croatia (14.2%), Cyprus (14.1%), Hungary (13.7%) and Slovenia (13.1%) are the five countries where toy sales are more susceptible to counterfeit products.

industry clothing and shoesIn Europe, which is the largest sector analyzed by the study in terms of sales, the leaders of this sector, which is facing a loss of approximately 5%, are Cyprus (10.7%), Ireland (10.2%), Luxembourg (9.2%) and Lithuania. (9.1%) and Estonia. (8.7%).

Of the three sectors examined cosmetic One of the least affected by fakes. The EUIPO report reveals that losses to original cosmetics manufacturers amount to just under 5% of total sales in the EU. The French cosmetics industry was the hardest hit in absolute terms, with annual sales losses of 800 million euros. The report stated that the biggest losses were in Bulgaria (8.7%), Cyprus (7.9%), Romania (7.9%), Portugal (7.7%) and Hungary (7.6%).

health risk

The report states that, in addition to economic losses and their impact on the labor market, counterfeit products, especially in the cosmetics and toy sectors, can pose significant risks to the health and safety of consumers. These Potentially harmful products account for 15% Number of counterfeit goods seized at the EU’s external borders, according to EUIPO’s intellectual property crime threat assessment in 2022.