--- title: 'Counterfeit products and health risks: a problem for brands too' url: 'https://argobs.com/en/prodotti-contraffatti-e-i-rischi-per-la-salute-un-problema-anche-per-i-brand' markdown: 'https://argobs.com/en/prodotti-contraffatti-e-i-rischi-per-la-salute-un-problema-anche-per-i-brand.md' lang: en date: '2026-02-06' description: 'Buying a counterfeit garment is not just a matter of poor quality or intellectual property infringement. Increasingly, it is a public health issue. This is confirmed by the study "Unboxing Fake Fashion: Unleashing Real Dangers", published in February 2026 by the American Apparel & Footwear Asso…' taxonomy: category: - articoli - contraffazione - proprieta-intellettuale --- # Counterfeit products and health risks: a problem for brands too 6 February 2026 | Articles, Counterfeiting, Intellectual property Buying a counterfeit garment is not just a matter of poor quality or intellectual property infringement. Increasingly, it is a public health issue. This is confirmed by the study *"Unboxing Fake Fashion: Unleashing Real Dangers"*, published in February 2026 by the **American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) in collaboration with Intertek**, one of the world's leading certification and quality assurance bodies. The findings are unambiguous: of 39 counterfeit products analyzed — spanning clothing, footwear and accessories — **16, or 41%, failed compliance testing against US and international safety standards.** These are not cosmetic flaws or simply poor materials. The failed products contained concentrations of hazardous chemicals well above permitted limits, in some cases hundreds of times over. ###### The study's findings The data paint a worrying picture. Eight products — more than 20% of the total sample — were non-compliant because of excessive levels of phthalates, chemical compounds used as plasticizers and known endocrine disruptors. One pair of counterfeit sneakers contained nearly **327,000 parts per million (ppm) of diethyl phthalate (DEP), more than 650 times the limit set by the AAFA Restricted Substances List**. But phthalates are not the only culprits. Five products tested positive for PFAS (known as "forever chemicals" because they do not break down in the environment), six for alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates (AP/APEO), three for bisphenol A (BPA), two for **formaldehyde and three for heavy metals. A men's jacket contained 191 ppm of lead, a metal that can damage the nervous system and kidneys, with particularly serious effects on children**. A sports cap showed a **formaldehyde concentration nearly ten times the regulatory limit** — a substance that causes skin irritation and respiratory problems and that that the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies as carcinogenic to humans. All the hazardous substances found in the tested samples appear on the list of banned or restricted substances published by the AAFA, a reference document that has been updated for more than fifteen years and is used by the industry as a compliance standard. ###### Where these products are bought One particularly significant finding concerns sales channels. **At least 25% of the non-compliant products had been purchased or marketed through the Meta platform (Facebook and its related services)**. This confirms a trend already well known to industry insiders: social commerce — the buying and selling of goods through social networks — is becoming a preferred vehicle for distributing counterfeit goods, often through sponsored ads, hidden links and fraudulent websites. Unsurprisingly, **the AAFA has repeatedly called for Meta to be included in the US government's Notorious Markets List**, the list of markets notoriously associated with counterfeiting and piracy. In the same filing, the association also named platforms such as Shopee and Alibaba. These marketplaces, the AAFA says, do not merely host listings for fake products, but a whole infrastructure of deceptive advertising and shadow websites that make it extremely difficult for consumers to tell the genuine from the fake. ###### The 2022 precedent The 2026 study did not come out of nowhere. It follows similar research conducted in 2022, when the AAFA tested 47 counterfeit products and found that 36.2% failed to meet safety standards. At that time, dangerous levels of arsenic, cadmium, phthalates and lead were detected, along with an **accessory that exceeded the cadmium exposure limit by 600 times — cadmium being a toxic heavy metal classified by the WHO as carcinogenic, causing damage to the kidneys, bones and respiratory system**. The comparison between the two studies shows a deterioration: from 36% to 41% of non-compliant products. It is a sign that, despite growing regulatory attention, the problem is not only persisting but getting worse. ###### Why counterfeit products are dangerous Counterfeit production, by its very nature, evades every form of quality control. Legitimate manufacturers are required to meet strict standards on the materials they use, to carry out laboratory tests and to guarantee traceability across the supply chain. In the world of counterfeiting, none of this exists. There is no incentive to use safe materials, no control over chemical processes, and no liability if consumers are harmed. The substances found in the samples are not harmless. They can be absorbed through the skin by prolonged contact or inhaled through the off-gassing of fabrics. While a single exposure may not produce immediate symptoms, cumulative exposure poses a real risk, especially for children and for people with sensitive skin or pre-existing conditions. Phthalates, for example, are endocrine disruptors linked to fertility and developmental disorders; **PFAS accumulate in the body and are associated with cardiovascular disease and hormonal dysfunction; lead can cause irreversible neurological damage in young children.** ###### The scale of the phenomenon The study comes at a particularly sensitive time. Major sporting events — from the Super Bowl to the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup — traditionally generate demand peaks for merchandise and sportswear, fertile ground for counterfeiting. The same is true of commercial holidays such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. As Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the AAFA, stated: "Counterfeiting is not just a matter of consumer trust or brand protection, it is a public health issue. It is time to act decisively to protect consumers from dangerous counterfeits. We call on policymakers to immediately address the real dangers being trafficked online." ###### What to do **Counterfeit products do not harm only those who buy them: they directly hit legitimate brands.** When a consumer comes into contact with a fake product that causes skin irritation, allergic reactions or other health problems, the **reputational damage inevitably falls on the original brand, even though it bears no responsibility**. Public perception does not distinguish between genuine and counterfeit: the name on the product is the brand's, and so is the trust consumers place in it. Every dangerous counterfeit product placed on the market erodes the credibility built over years of investment in quality, safety and regulatory compliance. For this reason, brand protection can no longer be limited to intellectual property enforcement in the strict sense, but must extend to actively countering counterfeiting on digital platforms, where these products find their main distribution channel. On the regulatory front, the European Union has taken a decisive step with the Digital Services Act (DSA), the regulation that imposes strict transparency obligations on online platforms and requires them to tackle illegal content, including the sale of counterfeit products. Among the tools provided for by the DSA, a key role is played by **trusted flaggers**: entities recognized by national authorities that can submit qualified notices to platforms, which are required to process them with priority. In Italy, **Argo Business Solutions S.r.l.** was the first organization designated as a trusted flagger under the DSA. Argo offers specialized brand protection services, online platform monitoring and qualified reporting of counterfeit products, supporting companies and consortia in protecting their trademarks. Thanks to this status, Argo's reports enjoy a fast lane with platforms, speeding up the removal of unlawful listings. Indirectly, Argo's takedown work delivers a benefit that goes beyond protecting a single brand: every listing removed means one fewer potentially dangerous product available to consumers. Countering online counterfeiting means, in effect, also protecting public health. If your brand is exposed to the risk of counterfeiting, now is the time to act. Contact **Argo Business Solutions** to find out how our brand protection services and our role as a trusted flagger can help you protect your trademark, remove counterfeit products from platforms and defend the reputation you have built. --- ## Navigation - Parent: [News](https://argobs.com/en/news.md) - Previous: [Shadow IT: the invisible infrastructure exposing your organization](https://argobs.com/en/shadow-it-linfrastruttura-invisibile-che-espone-la-tua-organizzazione.md) - Next: [Removing deepfakes from the web: how Argo steps in](https://argobs.com/en/la-rimozione-dei-deep-fake-dal-web-come-interviene-argo.md)