While providing a family day out where people can pick up a bargain, market events can attract traders selling counterfeit and illicit goods.
Staffordshire County Council’s trading standards team coordinates the national Real Deal markets campaign in Staffordshire; market organisers can sign up to the scheme to support the fight against the sale of counterfeit goods.
The council’s communities leader Gill Heath said: “The bank holiday weekend will see numerous car boot sale and market events taking place. These are great family events and we support the organisers running them.
“We’re part of the national Real Deal markets campaign which brings market event organisers on board to help to stop counterfeit goods sales.
“We want people to avoid the pitfalls of counterfeit goods this holiday weekend and throughout the year – protecting themselves and legitimate businesses.
“Counterfeit goods can be hard to detect just to look at, so a knock down price is a good indicator. These items are shoddy, they may be dangerous and their sale puts local jobs at risk.”
Some of the hidden dangers of counterfeit goods include:
- Counterfeit alcohol such as vodka contains dangerous chemicals
- Counterfeit perfume can often burn skin or leave a nasty rash and may contain lead
- Fake sunglasses often offer no UVA protection
- Fake or illicit tobacco often contains unknown chemicals, higher tar levels and cigarettes can be a fire risk as they do not burn out like legitimate products
- Counterfeit children’s toys can often be unsafe with unsuitable small parts and children’s clothes may be inflammable
Anyone wanting to report counterfeit goods sales can call the anonymous Staffordshire Fight the Fakes line on 01785 330356.
