There used to be a time when wearing Louis Vuitton or a Gucci bag served as a status symbol, but today, since the Chinese have taken over the counterfeit goods market, designer goods have lost their exclusiveness.

In China, it is nearly impossible to walk down the street without being approached by people with printed color brochures harassing you to buy fake purses, watches and sunglasses. Their goods are strategically hidden from the everyday traffic in side streets and in alleyways. 

There are also street vendors on every corner offering fake designer wallets, purses and jewelry. The counterfeit goods are obviously poor quality but are so abundant and cheap that they have gotten their niche in the market.

~{!0~}I know that my Abercrombie and Fitch shirt isn~{!/~}t real, but it is so inexpensive that I don~{!/~}t care,~{!1~} said Gao Yanjie (Amy), a recent Shanghai International Studied University graduate.

The production of counterfeit luxury goods has stirred much debate centering on intellectual property rights in both the East and the West. 

Everything from the way in which the goods are made to the effects that the products have had on the brands being mimicked has been put under the microscope.

In the United States, there has been a recent crackdown on selling counterfeit goods. In areas such as New York~{!/~}s Canal Street in Chinatown, the police have been monitoring the area to make sure that people are not selling illegal fake goods. 

Prior to the strict legal actions, Canal Street was filled with stores that sold counterfeit designer goods and vendors would also secretly approach tourists inviting them to go to secret rooms that had their ~{!0~}best~{!1~} stuff, which meant fake purses that could cost up to $300.

In high-fashion magazines, such as Harper~{!/~}s Bazaar, there have been five-page ads discouraging people from buying counterfeit goods because the money spent on these kinds of products are supporting terrorist activity and child labor abuse overseas.

Companies such as Louis Vuitton have sued some of these counterfeit manufacturers for violating copyright laws and have claimed that since everyone can now buy a bag which resembles their own, their own products have lost their appeal.

~{!0~}In China, women don~{!/~}t want to buy real Gucci or Louis Vuitton bags because there are so many fakes available, people will just think it~{!/~}s fake so it~{!/~}s not worth spending the money,~{!1~} said Guo Xiaofeng (Charles), another SISU student.

Since the early 1990s, the production of counterfeit products has skyrocketed and organized crime groups are the major players in the fake luxury goods business; thus there has been a link created with profits from purchasing the fake things with terrorist activity.

In China, most of the counterfeit producing factories are found in the southern portion of the country.

~{!0~}My cousin owns a store in which they sell fake purses and she just came back from a factory in Guangzhou,~{!1~} said Gu.

South Korea has also become synonymous with the fake goods market in Asia, selling many of their goods to those in China.

~{!0~}I get my products at wholesale prices from factories who deliver the items to my house,~{!1~} said a shopkeeper who wished to remain anonymous.

The bulk of China~{!/~}s fake goods can be found in the markets scattered throughout the major cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing.  Tourists are inundated with booth after booth of cheap counterfeit products such as Polo style shirts with Burberry print colors and poorly made purses with the brand Chloe stamped onto the front.

Although the majority of the vendors target foreigners, since they believe that they have the money to spend, most of the counterfeit products sold are to the Chinese themselves. 

~{!0~}I mostly sell to teenage boys and girls and to professional women,~{!1~} said the shopkeeper.

The counterfeit market doesn~{!/~}t stop with designer goods.  It has now moved to selling pirated DVDs of movies, TV shows and plays, which has caused the film industry to suffer.  The DVDs are sold so cheap, many are under $1-$2, that people aren~{!/~}t investing their money in the high-quality, expensive DVDs sold elsewhere.

Chinese officials have begun to crack down on the illegal counterfeit market by performing sting operations and they have succeeded in closing down some factories where these goods are produced.

However, until consumers boycott these products, fake goods will still be manufactured and as long as there exists a niche in the market, these products will be funding illegal activities which are ailing the world.