The Fake Trade

Overview

There are lots of people who don't care if the goods they buy are original or knock-offs, as long as they look like the real thing and they're cheap. After all, what harm can there be in buying a fake designer bag or trainers - all you're doing is denting the profits of the multinational manufacturers. But, as the first of this two-part investigation shows, it goes much deeper than that. For instance, with the counterfeit market now encompassing pharmaceutical drugs, consumers could be damaging themselves, too.