Visitors are drawn to Canal Street by the promise of luxury bargains—such as “designer” bags, "Rolex" watches and "Gucci" sunglasses. The fake bags can be priced at just $50, despite its retail value often reaching thousands. Many of the vendors are from Senegal and Mali, while others are Chinese women. The former display the actual counterfeit goods spread on large carts or tarps, while the latter only carry laminated catalogs (to avoid arrest and confiscation).
Many tourists are unaware of the complex network behind this activity. Chinese wholesalers, hidden in the backrooms of souvenir shops, provide these items, obtaining them from factories in Guangdong province that produce high-quality replicas using smuggled authentic samples. These goods are transported via container ships to ports such as Newark, evading customs through mislabeled shipments or the involvement of corrupt officials.
The street-level sellers are mainly West African immigrants from Senegal and Mali, who work for local Chinese groups. It is estimated the counterfeit "industry" causes New York City alone to lose over $1 billion annually in tax revenue.
On a personal level, I'm not disturbed by these vendors , because I believe peddling fake copies of luxury goods are largely victimless "crimes". The Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel of this world may claim they are victimized, but buyers of fake copies couldn't buy the real ones....so they're not really losing revenue. In my view, the "victims" are the West African immigrants who have few options to make a living other than street peddling.
These photographs were all "shot" from the hip, using a remote cable, and were post processed using a Tri X-400 preset.
