The Yellow Band Sham: Saturday on Canal Street
Just came back from Canal Street. I was surprised to see that they're now peddling a fake version of the
Lance Armstrong band, which is supposed to benefit cancer research NOT bootleggers. But this is a capitalistic society--so the buck starts at the dollar. When I got back home, I googled
counterfeit yellow bands--lo and behold,
MSNBC had this to say:
...Kyle and Sydney purchased the bands directly from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, so they were surprised when they saw them for sale in a mall near their home in Connecticut. Their dad asked the store's owner about it.
"They said, 'we're not selling them for the charity, we're just selling them like any other product,'" says David Allon.
Not a dime was going toward anything close to cancer research.
"Why? Why are they doing this to get money for themselves?" asks Sydney. "Why aren't they just doing it for cancer research?"
The fact is, the Lance Armstrong Foundation only sells its bands in four places: Its Web site, Discovery Channel stores, Build-a-Bear workshops and select Nike locations.
So was the Allon's discovery a fluke? Curious, Dateline hit the streets looking for counterfeit Livestrong bands. And sure enough, we found them, in all the wrong places.
In Chinatown, New York they were on the streets. We asked if the proceeds were going to charity. The vendor, who spoke Mandarin Chinese, had no idea.
We moved on. Another vendor had plenty of Livestrong bands for sale, in a rainbow of colors matching every outfit. The Lance Armstrong Foundation says it makes its bracelets in only one color — yellow. Anything else is a fake.
You're probably wondering what the BIG deal is. We see knockoffs of name brands sold on street corners in NYC everyday. Manufacturers lose millions yearly because of them-think of all those
Coach and
Burberry purses sold also in lower Manhattan. Rip offs are part of postmodern capitalism--it's hip to be fake. And easier on your wallet. But the Live Strong bandits may have gone too far.
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