Counterfeit sunglasses
© Sébastien Bonaimé

Brilliant analysis and investigation into the global counterfeit goods economy by The Economist. French luxury goods conglomerate Kerring is suing Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, claiming it is enabling counterfeiters to sell rip-offs of its products. Alibaba has denied the claim, saying that it has some 2,000 people employed to remove fake goods from its listings, and last year deleted around 90 million of them. However,fakes remain big business: The Economist estimates the global trade is worth $1.8trn, and e-commerce sites are making it easier than ever for criminals.

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