A new study released by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), underscores the threats that counterfeit items pose to customers.

According to a new study, 36.2 percent of counterfeit fashion goods evaluated – including apparel, footwear, and other accessories – fail to meet US product safety requirements, indicating that they contain unsafe quantities of chemicals and heavy metals.

AAFA collaborated with Intertek, a global provider of complete quality assurance, to test counterfeit products for a variety of hazardous chemicals and heavy metals. According to the AAFA, 17 of the 47 counterfeit items evaluated failed to meet safety standards, according to a summary of findings from the laboratory review.

AAFA president and CEO, Steve Lamar, said that the goods that failed their testing had unsafe levels of arsenic, cadmium, phthalates, lead, and other chemicals that have been linked to negative health effects. Even little levels can pose severe health hazards. AAFA and its members are committed to safeguarding consumers, preserving American intellectual property, creating American employment, and protecting workers all over the world. Their members go above and beyond to ensure that their products are safe for their customers' health and safety. Counterfeits jeopardize all of this, causing harm to consumers, businesses, and employment.

As per the report, unsafe counterfeits are appearing every minute of every day on even the most trusted e-commerce and social media sites. That is why AAFA is working with Congress and US government agencies, such as the US Trade Representative, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Commerce, the US Department of Homeland Security, and others, to raise public awareness and develop effective policies to raise public awareness, improve tools in the fight against illicit and counterfeit goods, and hold e-commerce and social media platforms responsible.

The AAFA Restricted Substances List lists all of the dangerous substances detected in the counterfeit products that were evaluated (RSL). The AAFA RSL, an open-industry resource and trusted tool that includes all banned and restricted chemicals and substances for completed apparel, footwear, accessories, and home textile items, has been published and updated by AAFA for over 15 years.

The SHOP SAFE Act and the INFORM Consumers Act are two complementary proposals presently before Congress to prevent counterfeits.