Counterfeit goods cost European clothing, cosmetics and toy sectors €16 billion and nearly 200,000 jobs annually, according to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
The EUIPO's study, based on data from 2018 to 2021, found that the clothing sector is hit the hardest. It suffers a €12 billion loss each year, representing 5.2% of its total sales. Meanwhile, the cosmetics sector's losses were estimated at €3 billion, and the toy sector's at €1 billion.
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Austria are the most affected, accounting for half of these losses.
The EUIPO calculated that this has resulted in 200,000 job losses, including 40,000 in Germany, 24,000 in Italy and around 15,000 in both Spain and France.
However, the EU agency acknowledges that, as it is an illegal activity, counterfeit "cannot be precisely measured."
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To compile the estimates, the EUIPO developed a model partly based on the seized amounts from police operations and the percentage of Europeans admitting to buying counterfeit goods in each country.
According to a previous study in June 2023, one third of Europeans find it acceptable to buy counterfeit products if the price of the authentic item is too high. Among young people, this proportion reaches half.
