33% of young people have no problem buying fake products The culture of fakes is spreading like wildfire

On the occasion of the tenth edition of the Anti-Counterfeiting Week, organized by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT), a seminar titled Digital Education: Defense Strategies for Minors, Families, and Teachers Against Counterfeiting was held in Rome. During the event, the results of a study commissioned to the Italian Parents' Movement (MOIGE) and conducted by the Piepoli Institute on a sample of over 2,100 middle and high school students aged 11 to 17 were announced, revealing the scant awareness of young people regarding counterfeit products. According to the data, in fact, only three out of ten respondents are able to provide a precise definition of counterfeit goods, while one third, exactly 33%, has no concrete notion of it and 30% cannot correctly define the concept. But what do these data precisely mean?

Savings is the priority

For the interviewed boys and girls, counterfeiting appears as a vague and underestimated problem. 73% recognize that fakes are omnipresent in various sectors, particularly clothing, accessories, and technological devices. But the dominant view reduces it to a simple economic saving or an imitation without serious implications: 13% consider it an innocuous practice. Few grasp the deeper ramifications. When asked about the implications of purchasing fake products, the most common perceived problem is the reduced quality and longevity of fakes (67%).

Less widespread are concerns for elements such as toxic components in cosmetics or unstable batteries in technological gadgets. The same goes for the socio-economic impacts of fakes, including job losses and tax evasion. In fact, 25% deny the existence of concrete risks. 70% of adolescents know that counterfeiting is not an Italian exclusive, but a global emergency fueled by complex supply chains and transnational online markets.

A matter of moral ambiguity

As could be expected, Internet was identified by the respondents as the main channel through which to find and purchase fake products, although 50% of the respondents identify them also in physical channels. However, the interesting part of this trade is its moral ambiguity: for example, 46% of the respondents perceive or suspect that they are facing a fake when they find products for sale on social media or second-hand platforms that cost really too little to be true. Only a minority is aware of the possible fines for consumers who knowingly purchase illegal goods. 35% see it at most as a questionable ethic, not as a punishable offense.

But it is the young people themselves who admit not knowing how to recognize an authentic product. Consequently, and this we add ourselves, they end up buying it using their unawareness as a justification: they know deep down that a product is fake but since there is a margin of doubt that it might be real, they buy it anyway. Once the product is received, it is the young people themselves who realize it is fake often from technical defects (41%), but for many it is not a problem: 19% continue to use it despite the suspicions. There is also a psychological factor: about 10% of the respondents avoid admitting to having been deceived, due to a sense of embarrassment or resignation.

The categories most affected by online purchases among young people include clothing (66%), followed by electronics (20%), cosmetics (16%), and even food products (6%). The driving motives? The desire for a good deal (35%), time savings (27%), and a wider range of options (40%). Finally, the tactics of counterfeiters, which range from modified photos to deceptive sales tactics, remain a mystery to the vast majority: 72% of adolescents declare they do not know them adequately. Only three out of ten feel prepared to recognize them. While 37% use online reviews of profiles as a method to verify the reliability of a seller, an increase compared to 2023 when many relied only on their personal assessment.

Data on the fake industry

Alongside the study on young people, data on the fake industry was presented, which this year saw record seizures by the Guardia di Finanza: in the first months of 2025, over 527 million counterfeit or non-compliant articles were found, originating mainly from Turkey (16%), China (14%), and Morocco (13%). The fashion-textile sector absorbs 74% of cases, according to the Iperico database, with estimated losses of 1.7 billion euros annually in missed sales and 19,000 jobs vanished according to data updated to 2023.

According to experts, the increase in prices and the wear on brand reputation have accelerated the growth of an industry that strikes precisely at Made in Italy, already in exceptional difficulty this year. In contrast, the Made in Italy law, operational since January 2024, introduces incisive measures: harsher penalties, simplification for the destruction of illegal goods, official hallmarks, and digital passports to track product authenticity.