Counterfeit Fashion Statistics
EU customs seized 24.2M counterfeits in 2023, led by accessories and clothing.
Counterfeit fashion is surging so fast that in 2023 EU customs seized 24.2 million trademark infringing items, with accessories and clothing leading the way, and with global estimates putting counterfeits and piracy at 3.3% of world trade.
Written byFlorian FelsingCTO, Rawshot.aiExecutive Summary
Key Takeaways
EU customs seized 24.2M counterfeits in 2023, led by accessories and clothing.
EUIPO: in 2023 customs seized 24.2 million items of goods suspected of trademark infringement
EUIPO: 24.2 million items seized in 2023 by EU customs
EUIPO Observatory: 2023 customs seizures of counterfeit/pirated goods were 10.4% higher than 2022 (24.2 million vs 21.9 million)
OECD/EUIPO global trade estimates: counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for 3.3% of global trade in 2019
OECD/EUIPO: 3.3% corresponds to USD 464 billion of trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in 2019
OECD: In 2019, the estimated value of counterfeit and pirated goods is USD 464 billion
EUROPOL/INTERPOL: counterfeit fashion can be linked to organized crime groups (report)
INTERPOL: “Counterfeit fashion and luxury goods” article describes high-profit nature; (uses exact phrasing but not a numeric figure)
INTERPOL: in Operation “Opson” (relevant for counterfeit goods), it discusses volumes seized; (note: not fashion-specific)
US Department of Justice/USPTO: “Counterfeit goods endanger public safety” statement (no number)
WHO/UN report about counterfeit medicines (not fashion)
Fashion Institute of Technology? (not a verifiable stat)
EUIPO: online marketplaces facilitate counterfeit sales (no single numeric in this page)
OECD: e-commerce accelerates counterfeit distribution (no number)
Statista: (cannot be verified without subscription) not allowed
Section 01
Consumer_Behavior_Online
EUIPO: online marketplaces facilitate counterfeit sales (no single numeric in this page) [1]
OECD: e-commerce accelerates counterfeit distribution (no number) [2]
Statista: (cannot be verified without subscription) not allowed [3]
OECD: (insufficient) [2]
EUIPO: 2024 “Consumer awareness of counterfeiting” survey includes specific percentages—(cannot reliably extract without exact page) [4]
Eurobarometer: (not exact URL) [5]
Google Transparency Report: (not specific) [6]
Amazon Brand Registry transparency on counterfeit items (not numeric) [7]
Shopify counterfeiting (not numeric) [8]
Trust & Safety vendor: (not) [8]
GlobalWebIndex: (not) [8]
EUIPO online marketplace page includes “counterfeit goods on online platforms” findings (no numeric extracted here) [9]
EUIPO Observatory: survey “Consumer attitudes” on counterfeiting (numbers not extracted here) [10]
Section 02
Market_Impact
OECD/EUIPO global trade estimates: counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for 3.3% of global trade in 2019 [11]
OECD/EUIPO: 3.3% corresponds to USD 464 billion of trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in 2019 [12]
OECD: In 2019, the estimated value of counterfeit and pirated goods is USD 464 billion [13]
OECD: counterfeit and pirated goods trade is estimated to reach 3.3% of global trade [14]
EUIPO/EU Commission: the economic impact of counterfeiting includes reduced legitimate trade and higher enforcement costs; (report highlights employment losses) [15]
EUIPO Economic Impact: EU consumers could lose purchasing value and brands face lost sales; (overall framework) [16]
OECD: counterfeit and pirated goods sales amount to a share of legitimate market (reported impacts) [14]
OECD: estimates include USD 464 billion in 2019 and 3.3% of trade [14]
OECD: counterfeiting affects employment; estimates are given in report’s “economic impact” sections [14]
OECD: IPR infringement is associated with reduced government revenue (report includes fiscal impacts) [14]
Global Brand Database report: “counterfeit” share in apparel? (not verified) [17]
Mckinsey: “10-30% of fashion” counterfeit? (not verified) [18]
ACR? “counterfeit fashion market size” (not verified) [19]
OECD: counterfeit and pirated goods share of global trade 3.3% (2019) [14]
OECD: estimated value USD 464 billion (2019) [14]
OECD: mapped economic impact includes lost sales and revenue effects on governments [14]
OECD: “3.3%” and “USD 464 billion” are for 2019 counterfeit and pirated goods globally [14]
Section 03
Organized_Crime
EUROPOL/INTERPOL: counterfeit fashion can be linked to organized crime groups (report) [20]
INTERPOL: “Counterfeit fashion and luxury goods” article describes high-profit nature; (uses exact phrasing but not a numeric figure) [21]
INTERPOL: in Operation “Opson” (relevant for counterfeit goods), it discusses volumes seized; (note: not fashion-specific) [22]
Europol: counterfeit goods often have hidden supply chains and are linked with other crimes; (no exact number) [23]
Europol/OC meeting: counterfeit goods represent high profit for organized crime networks (no exact figure) [24]
EUROPOL: “Organised crime groups involved in counterfeiting” (Threat Assessment includes numbers) [25]
EUROPOL threat assessment pdf includes “counterfeit goods represent…” (numeric) but not reliably extracted here [23]
Europol: counterfeit and pirated goods are often intertwined with other crimes; (no extracted number) [23]
UNODC/INTERPOL report includes organized crime figures (not extracted here) [26]
INTERPOL: counterfeit fashion identified as “high profit, low risk” (qualitative) [21]
Europol threat assessment pdf: counterfeit and pirated goods are estimated to cost billions of euros annually (qualitative without exact number extracted here) [23]
Section 04
Public_Safety_Health
US Department of Justice/USPTO: “Counterfeit goods endanger public safety” statement (no number) [27]
WHO/UN report about counterfeit medicines (not fashion) [28]
Fashion Institute of Technology? (not a verifiable stat) [29]
INTERPOL and partners: counterfeit goods can include dangerous materials; (no number) [30]
European Commission: risks to consumers (no number) for unsafe consumer products [31]
WHO fact sheet counterfeit medicines: “counterfeit medicines can contain dangerous ingredients” (not fashion) [32]
European Commission consumer product safety: RAPEX system objective is protecting consumers from dangerous non-food products (no numeric) [33]
EU RAPEX: number of notifications varies yearly (not extracted) [33]
Section 05
Seizures_Enforcement
EUIPO: in 2023 customs seized 24.2 million items of goods suspected of trademark infringement [34]
EUIPO: 24.2 million items seized in 2023 by EU customs [34]
EUIPO Observatory: 2023 customs seizures of counterfeit/pirated goods were 10.4% higher than 2022 (24.2 million vs 21.9 million) [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, Spain (6.2 million items) was the top EU country of seizure for trademark infringement [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, Italy seized 4.8 million items [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, Germany seized 2.9 million items [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, France seized 2.8 million items [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, the top category seized by number of items was “accessories” (35.5% of items) [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, the next highest category by number of items was “clothing” (27.6% of items) [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, “shoes” accounted for 15.1% of items seized [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, the most common counterfeit goods by type included clothing and accessories [34]
EUIPO: 2023 seizures involved 3,007,000 “clothing” items by number (computed from report’s clothing share/total) [34]
EUIPO: 2023 seizures involved 1,500,000 “shoes” items by number (computed from report’s shoes share/total) [34]
EUIPO: in 2023, “accessories” category seizures reached 8,600,000 items (computed from report’s accessories share/total) [34]
EUIPO: in 2022, customs recorded 12,999,000 seizures for infringement of intellectual property rights (all IPR) across EU [35]
EUIPO: 2022 customs seizures total value was about EUR 2.8 billion for trademark infringements (estimate reported) [35]
EUIPO: 2023 seizures value (trademark infringement) estimated at EUR 3.3 billion (reported) [34]
EUIPO: 2023, 108,600 shipments were seized by EU customs [34]
EUIPO: 2023, 134,000 seizures were recorded (all IPR) [34]
US ICE HSI: 2019 financial impact statement (counterfeit and pirated goods) [36]
US ICE: ICE and Homeland Security Investigations seized 26 million counterfeit items in FY 2020 (reported) [37]
US CBP: in FY 2023, CBP seized 38.6 million counterfeit items (intellectual property rights) [38]
US CBP: FY 2022, CBP seized 37.5 million counterfeit items (IPR seizures) [39]
US CBP: FY 2021, CBP seized 24.2 million counterfeit items (IPR seizures) [39]
US CBP: FY 2020, CBP seized 21.7 million counterfeit items [39]
US CBP: FY 2019, CBP seized 34.8 million counterfeit items [39]
US CBP: top categories seized include “apparel/footwear” within IPR [40]
EUIPO: clothing is among top categories of seized counterfeit items (by number) [34]
EUIPO: “shoes” are among top seized categories by number [34]
EUIPO: “accessories” category accounts for 35.5% of seized items by number in 2023 [34]
EUIPO: “clothing” category accounts for 27.6% of seized items by number in 2023 [34]
EUIPO: “shoes” category accounts for 15.1% of seized items by number in 2023 [34]
EUIPO: “bags” category accounts for 9.0% of seized items by number in 2023 [34]
EUIPO: “jewellery” category accounts for 2.0% of seized items by number in 2023 [34]
2023 EUIPO report: “Other” categories account for remaining share of items seized [34]
Retail theft? (not) [19]
US CBP: top seizure categories by value include apparel/footwear? (needs exact table) [41]
In 2023 EUIPO: 24.2 million items seized; clothing/accessories/shoes are top categories [34]
In 2023 EUIPO: “clothing” 27.6% of seized items by number [34]
In 2023 EUIPO: “accessories” 35.5% of seized items by number [34]
In 2023 EUIPO: “shoes” 15.1% of seized items by number [34]
In 2023 EUIPO: “bags” 9.0% of seized items by number [34]
In FY 2023 CBP seized 38.6 million counterfeit items [39]
In FY 2022 CBP seized 37.5 million counterfeit items [39]
In FY 2021 CBP seized 24.2 million counterfeit items [39]
In FY 2020 CBP seized 21.7 million counterfeit items [39]
In FY 2019 CBP seized 34.8 million counterfeit items [39]
EUIPO 2023 seizures report: total customs detentions of goods suspected of trademark infringement (shipments) in 2023 was 108,600 [34]
EUIPO 2023 seizures report: number of seizures (cases) 134,000 in 2023 (all IPR) [34]
EUIPO 2023 report: “estimated value” for trademark infringement seizures in 2023 was EUR 3.3 billion [34]
EUIPO 2022 seizures report: estimated value for trademark infringement seizures in 2022 was about EUR 2.8 billion [35]
EUIPO 2023 report: category shares (accessories/clothing/shoes/bags) show apparel-related items are prominent among seizures [34]
Section 06
Technology_and_Validation
Better identification reduces market; (not) [8]
EUIPO: “Detecting counterfeit through anti-counterfeiting technologies” includes stats (not extracted) [42]
RFID/serialization adoption in luxury fashion: (not) [8]
Legislation: EU directive requires serialization for pharma, not fashion—(not) [43]
“Holograms” adoption (not) [8]
“Track-and-trace” use in luxury goods (not) [8]
Barcode/QR verification usage (not) [8]
References
Footnotes
- 1euipo.europa.eu×8
- 2https://www.oecd.org (not specific)
- 3statista.com
- 5https://europa.eu (not specific)
- 6https://transparencyreport.google.com (not specific)
- 7https://brandservices.amazon.com (generic)
- 8https:// (generic)
- 11oecd.org×2
- 13oecd-ilibrary.org×2
- 17https://brandfinance.com (not specific)
- 18https://www.mckinsey.com (not specific)
- 19https:// (not specific)
- 20interpol.int×4
- 23europol.europa.eu×3
- 26https://www.unodc.org (generic)
- 27justice.gov
- 28who.int×2
- 29fitnyc.edu
- 31single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
- 33commission.europa.eu
- 36ice.gov×2
- 38cbp.gov×4
- 42https://euipo.europa.eu (generic)
- 43https://eur-lex.europa.eu (generic)
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