Counterfeits Are Hiding in Your Back-to-School Shopping Cart.
Back-to-school season is an exciting time for students, teachers, and communities. It is also a magnet for opportunistic counterfeiters, and the risks go beyond a bad deal.
Why it matters: Fake backpacks have shipped with lead-laced zippers. Counterfeit chargers have caught fire. Knockoff helmets have failed basic safety tests. Hardworking artisans and animators don’t receive their due for knock-off designs and featured characters. None went through the quality controls legitimate manufacturers must meet.
Big picture: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 79.4 million counterfeit items worth over $7.4 billion in FY2025. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development puts the global counterfeit trade at $467 billion annually, costing American businesses and workers billions in lost revenue and wages.
What they said: "CBP is holding bad actors accountable through investigating, targeting, and modernizing our enforcement to stay one step ahead of those looking to game the system," said CBP Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner Jeff Rezmovic.
How to shop smarter:
