Press Release

October 6, 2021
Media Contact: media@buysafeamerica.org

Footwear Industry Applauds New Act to Curb Counterfeits 

 
Today, Representative’s Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) introduced the INFORM Consumers Act to address the prevalence of counterfeit goods sold by third-party sellers on e-commerce sites. Footwear is one of the most counterfeited goods in the marketplace. The legislation would require online platforms to verify the identity of high-volume third-party sellers and provide consumers with basic information on these sellers. U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced similar legislation in the Senate earlier this year. 
 
Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) President and CEO Matt Priest issued the following statement on the introduction of the INFORM Consumer Act, which will help curb footwear counterfeits: 
 
“We applaud Representatives Schakowsky and Bilirakis for introducing bipartisan legislation to help fight the surge of counterfeit goods sold online. With today’s sophisticated counterfeiting operations, it can be nearly impossible for U.S. footwear consumers to determine a legitimate good from a counterfeit product. The INFORM Consumers Act will help protect our consumers and our brands by providing greater information and transparency when it comes to goods sold by third-party sellers in online marketplaces. Now that this bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate, FDRA looks forward to working to advance it through Congress as soon as possible.”
 

###
 

The Buy Safe America Coalition represents a diverse group of responsible retailers, consumer groups, manufacturers, intellectual property advocates and law enforcement officials who support efforts at all levels of government to protect consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods.