Counterfeiting in the Hair Industry

Did you know that just like designer clothes and bags and furniture can be counterfeited, so can hairpieces? I didn't. I interviewed Michael Leigh, President of Follea, Inc. to find out more.

How prevalent is counterfeiting in the hair industry? 
Follea is the premium brand in the hair industry. We believe therefore we are the most likely target of such practices. And it has already started. We have heard about factories that say "we make products for Follea" (not true - we own our own factory). We have seen, as in physically examined, 3 examples of pieces sold as Follea (from both USA and UK). One of them was on a Follea fitting cap and still had a Follea label in it. But not our hair or hair sewing and of poor quality. We have seen 2 different Chinese factories using our images in their advertising, of which one was actually claiming to offer our products and another who showed our logo. We also just last week received a report from a woman who called a hair replacement salon in Chicago to buy a Follea piece and was told they were stockists. She went there to buy and was switched to something else that was "better." It apparently fell apart after 2 weeks. Now the woman is seeking our help to get her money back and insisting on a Follea piece. 

Is this counterfeiting more intentional on the consumer's end, or unintentional with salons or companies trying to pass off their goods as the real thing without consumers knowing?
We think that Follea is to some extent an aspirational brand. But it is also a necessity for most women that choose to buy Follea. They are generally experienced hair wearers who have been through frustrating, emotionally painful, and sometimes personally embarrassing experiences of purchasing inferior hair products. New hair wearers are often drawn to ads for cheap products that are "just as good as Follea" and don't understand the pitfalls.

Nevertheless, as described above, the counterfeiting problems generally originate from factories and a few rogue hair replacement centers. 

What are the problems with counterfeiting, and how is Follea making sure that consumers know they're getting genuine products? 

First - What are the problems with counterfeiting...The problem is that the customer can get ripped off. Follea's hair quality and workmanship is very expensive. Just to start with, the hair we use to make our catalog and custom products costs 6 to 10 times more than hair used by counterfeiters. The Follea workmanship and proprietary processes are superior in several ways. This work is performed in our own factory where wages and working conditions are significantly higher than the industry norm. We are the industry benchmark for quality and it costs a lot more to work this way.

Second, and how is Follea making sure that consumers know they're getting genuine products? 

• Each Follea hairpiece and next generation wig has a unique serial number discretely embedded inside the cap. A Follea purchaser should be concerned if this label has been removed.
• To ensure that it is a genuine Follea serial number we offer the free Follea registration and authentication service. They can register their purchase on the Follea.com website stating where and when they purchased it and what the piece is. We check the number and other information against our database to make sure that their purchase is genuine.
• We have changed the design of our Follea fitting caps to ensure that unscrupulous dealers and factories cannot use them to implant hair and pass them off as Follea. If they try to remove the "Follea fitting cap" label the cap will be damaged.
• When we find a dealer that is guilty of any of the above practices, we cut them off and remove any reference to them from our site.
• Any factories that feature our products or images in their promotional material or on purchasing websites, such as Alibaba are immediately contacted and asked to cease and desist. Most do when they know they have been caught. If they do not comply, we employ legal assistance as necessary.
• We post our full catalog, including product specifications, on our website at Follea.com. We also post our recommended retail price list. We also continue to offer education and information to help inform our Follea purchasers on what they should be looking for and how to tell if something is a genuine Follea.

It is working. Recently, one concerned purchaser contacted us. She was sold a "Folea" 12" Aero Tpoette and our "Smart Shopper" noted and became concerned that Follea's catalog stated that this model was only offered in 10" and 14" lengths. We intervened and, sure enough, after having previously been shown a Follea piece, this client had now been switched to a non-Follea piece. The vendor blamed it on an inexperienced new employee and replaced it immediately with a new genuine 14" Follea Topette.