Can buyback programs, artificial intelligence and blockchain get rid of knockoff furniture? | Architectural Digest

Going after counterfeit products and those who manufacture or sell them is an urgent and worthy pursuit, but truly stopping the market for counterfeit designs means weaning buyers off cheap knockoffs in the first place. “We have focused a lot of our time on the education part of [the problem], says Sherri Simko, president of Be Original Americas, a non-profit organization that advocates for authentic design. “From a grassroots perspective, if you get to the people who are making these decisions” — i.e., consumers and specifiers — “it’s a lot easier than trying to fight it from the top down, where you don’t really have the legality to do much.”

Through events, exhibitions, scholarships and CEU courses for emerging designers and professionals, Be Original Americas (and other similar organizations in Denmark and Australia) hope to create a wider awareness and understanding of the creative, economic, health and environmental benefits of buying authentic design. For Simko, it doesn’t make sense to choose to buy lower-quality furniture to save money when we’re so quick to invest $1,000 in an iPhone that’s only replaced every few years. “If you’re after that particular iconic piece, save your money and buy something that will stay with you forever and/or has great resale value,” she advises. Authentic design doesn’t have to be expensive, she continues, citing Be Original Americas member Blu Dot, a brand that offers original, high-quality design at affordable prices.

In addition to buyback programs, anti-counterfeiting technology and consumer education, eliminating knockoffs will ultimately require a marked change in how designer goods are produced, talked about and valued. The knowledge of connoisseurs who help specialists distinguish reproductions from authentic designs needs to be made more accessible to a wider audience so that they can make better informed decisions when purchasing new or vintage pieces.

Brands may also want to consider collaborating with the design tastemakers who help spark furniture fashions. It is through these numbers that manufacturers can introduce consumers to the rich stories behind the objects, and in that way build cachet for the real thing. And to make original design more attractive to the next generation of consumers, brands and designers need to find more ways to develop products at affordable prices. Creating these changes in the market and the minds of consumers will be a gradual process. But hopefully, rejecting fakes in favor of originals can become a way for people to show not only their good taste, but also their investment in a more ethical and sustainable future.