Fashion: Is it the real thing?

Edmund Kagire In Kampala explores the counterfeiting industry Today it’s very easy to be duped. Many of us are spending our hard earned money on fake products. Blame it on the computer revolution that has taken us by storm. A group of boys can come up with ‘almost’ the same product, you will barely notice. First, we were able to put up with cheap but ‘almost’ original goods that were imported from China, in that you would go to buy say a vehicle spare part or electrical appliances in downtown Kampala and the businessman would kindly offer you two options as you negotiate: England or Taiwan or China. If you have enough money you walk away with England (Not the Country but English made products) and if you were not so loaded, you would just settle for Taiwan or China. Taiwan would do almost the same job the England one could do; the only difference was in the durability. Whereas England would last a lifetime, Taiwan could last until you have more money to upgrade to England or worse still buy more Taiwan to give you more time. That was when most cases involved around electronics and car accessories. Now even the mineral water you are sipping at, the curry powder in your kitchen, the detergent in your laundry and yes, the underwear you are wearing could be fake, but with a label that almost resembles your favorite make. Africa has become the dumping ground of the whole world. Could it be because of the high illiteracy levels? I mean who in Europe can mistake Phillips for Phillipps or Phillibs…? So last Christmas I went to the village and what I saw was a mother of all fakes. This boy was really on cloud 9 in his Christmas best. However, what amused me was a 2 in 1 Arsenal/‘Machester’ United (Note Machester not Manchester) shirt. While the front had the sponsors AIG, the name of the club Machester United sponsor complete with logo, the back had an Arsenal logo of a Cannon and the name ‘FABBREGAS’. That was the most amazing fake I had ever seen. Clothes labels have suffered badly; counterfeits are wide spread all over the market and even the smartest among us sometimes fall victim. The counterfeiters themselves are so bright that they do it in a way that consumers can barely notice, the dupers normally add a letter or even twist the spelling a bit that if one is not careful will buy it and will only realise later. For example, you could find Adidas twisted into something like Adidias or even Addidos and the logo is a bit tilted, though it almost looks like the Adidas logo. A friend of mine bought a CK T-shirt but was it a Calvin Klein? No, it was a Calvine Kioven and then, imagine buying your treasured NIKE trainers and only to reach home and you bought a rare China made NIRE that has a logo similar to Nike’s? Perfumes and deodorants are faked too, your favorite Nivea cologne could actually turn out to be a Nevea and a Gucci becomes Cucci. Recently, I met an old man cursing the day he bought a ‘SQNY’ radio. He could never have noticed that difference between the SQNY and SONY, everything from the make to the size looked like SONY. However on taking it home, Mzee Rwabira realised he had been duped. Unlike the original SONY, this one could ‘guzzle’ batteries in four days and then to add insult to injury it started producing cloaked sound just one month later. It’s when reality unfolded and he remembered how the businessman was willing to see it off at a cheaper price than the usually expensive original SONY. Two months later the radio was declared junk. Electronics are the most affected because people tend to splash more money on electronics. So next time you buy a home theatre you thought to be a Panasonic and it turns out to be a croaky Panasoanic or Pansonic, don’t say I never told you. Your favorite Philips could still be a Phillips (Check the l’s), before you take it home, be a little bit careful when checking out the labels and the logos. Did you know that even your favorite drink at the bar could be a fake? Apparently alcoholic drinks like wines and spirits are easy to fake and can easily pass as original since the taste is almost the same. They are faked even from as far as Europe but they make their way to Africa. So you can tune your taste buds to that sharpness that can easily detect a slight change in the taste of your favorite drink. I was amused when a man bought a 1 litre bottle of Fanta Orange, only to find a mixture of what we normally call Quencher. First we thought he was joking because the bottle was sealed, but eventually we all tasted and we all agreed to the guys claims. It wasn’t Fanta Orange, but a certain concoction that tasted like it was from mars. Even energy drinks, Red Bull can be Rage Bull. Recently I met a trader from Kigali on the streets of Kampala crying foul after splashing all his money on a consignment of fake electronics that ranged from DVD Players, digital cameras, iPods and electric kettles which he thought were made by Philips. Being Francophone, Félicien Mutware could hardly recognise the difference in the original Philips and the fake Phillipps, only to discover a double ‘p’ later. On being tipped by a friend in Kigali, he returned to Kampala, only to find the traders who sold him the goods gone with the wind. Be careful before you spend your hard earned cash. Keep an eye out for tricksters. Ends