Counterfeit goods cost clothing, cosmetics and toy industries €16 billion and nearly 200,000 jobs a year in Europe, according to the latest study published by EUIPO.

The study draws on data from 2018 to 2021. It found that sales of legitimate clothing/footwear, cosmetics and toys lost €12 billion, €3 billion and €1 billion a year, respectively.

Other findings of the study included:

• Losses to the legitimate clothing industry represented 5.2% of clothing sales in the EU. Due to sales lost due to counterfeiting, the clothing industry employed 160,000 fewer people each year
• Loss of cosmetics sales amounted to 4.8% of total sales and resulted in almost 32,000 lost jobs
• The toy sector suffers the highest ratio of sales lost due to counterfeiting (8.7%) and employed 3,600 fewer people due to counterfeiting

The estimates of losses are based on econometric models that relate counterfeiting indicators to sales forecasting errors, defined as unexpected changes in sales in three sectors in the EU market. Each sector is analysed separately.

Across the three sectors, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Austria incurred the largest losses, with nearly €8 billion in reduced sales of genuine goods.

Germany alone accounts for one-third of all lost sales in the EU in the toy sector. However, in cosmetics, the French industry is most affected in absolute terms, with €800 million in lost sales.

EUIPO Executive Director João Negrão said: “Counterfeit goods have real costs – for consumers, for brands and for our economies. This latest study shows the very real costs when it comes to lost revenue and jobs in the EU. The findings on counterfeiting highlight the valuable work the EUIPO is conducting through the Observatory and the important collaboration we have with EUROPOL, the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF and the European Commission to identify and stamp out fake goods in the EU.”

Download and read the executive summary and the full study on EUIPO’s website here.