3 Ways for Women to Detect Designer Knock-Offs

Scam artists selling fashion rip-offs are on the rise, but these three tips from Hi-Tech Printing & Labeling, Inc., will help retailers keep authentic designer products on their shelves

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Hi-Tech Printing & Labeling Inc.

Aug 29, 2014, 01:07 ET

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- While the fashion industry is becoming more diverse in terms of its clientele, it is still largely dominated by women. That's why a recent study from the popular European social site for resale of designer fashion, Vestiairecollective.com, is so worrying for those in the fashion retail industry who are dedicated to offering legitimate designer products.

Researchers in the study found that 61% of female online marketplace shoppers have been misled into purchasing counterfeit designer goods, or know of someone who accidentally bought a knockoff online. Perhaps even more distressing, 66% of women acknowledged that they don't feel that they possess the knowledge necessary to accurately identify a counterfeit product from a genuine item. Simply put, to find out if an alleged designer product is authentic, the best place to start is fabric labels for clothing. Labelling experts Hi-Tech Printing and Labelling Inc. are here to offer three simple ways to tell a genuine designer fabric label:

Woven Materials – While fake designer clothing may look like the real thing even from a relatively near distance, they almost never feel like the real thing, which is often immediately apparent when feeling the exquisite craftsmanship of a label made of woven damask, satin, or taffeta.

Eco-Conscious Labels – Many of the top designers have gotten where they are today because they're not interested in turning a profit at all costs, but have gone out of their way to create a product that truly enhances the quality of their customer's lives. It's that same selfless philosophy that has inspired many of the most in-demand names to move toward working with eco-conscious, organic materials with limited chemical processing.

Hi-Tech Printing & Labeling, Inc., for example, offers a variety of organic fabric labels while operating locally in the U.S. with top-grade machinery to ensure emissions from manufacturing and transportation are kept as low as possible. When you look into your next designer clothing purchase, take a look at the label to see what sort of material it's made from. A designer label will likely give you a good insight into whether it was crafted in an eco-friendly way, while a fake might not list the materials used at all.

Color Printing – When trying to detect fraudulent designer clothing, it's important to remember that scam artists will try to cut corners wherever they can, and a printed fabric label is one of the simplest areas to trim costs. Fabric labeling companies preferred by top designers like will often use state-of-the-art printers for their labels.

For instance, Hi-Tech Printing and Labeling, Inc. uses an 8 color press for fabric labels in Los Angeles, elastic and trimming, as well as a 6-color + UV + lamination and die-cutting machine for manufacturing hang tags. It's likely that the average scam artist won't have access to these options, and the difference will be apparent in labels that lack the rich, expressive coloring you'd expect from fashion leaders.

Don't become a victim of increasingly clever designer knockoffs. If you're a retailer in the clothing industry contact Hi-Tech Printing & Labeling online today at www.fabriclabels.com, or call (213) 746-7772 for a quote about a particular project.

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SOURCE Hi-Tech Printing & Labeling Inc.