YORK – Speaking to Ecotextile Talks in a new podcast, Steve Lamar, the president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) explains how a new study found that more than four in ten counterfeit fashion products tested failed basic product safety standards. He said this raised fresh questions over the public health risks of fake World Cup replica kits and other bargain “deals” sold online in the run up to FIFA’s prestigious tournament.
Working with testing provider Intertek, AAFA purchased 39 counterfeit items – including clothing, footwear and accessories – from popular online channels and sent them for laboratory analysis. Sixteen products, or 41% of the total, did not comply with US and international safety rules, with failures linked to restricted substances such as phthalates, PFAS, alkylphenols, BPA, formaldehyde and heavy metals.
Lamar told host Philip Berman that in one instance, a single product contained nearly 327,000 parts per million of diethyl phthalate (DEP) – around 650 times above the legal limit in AAFA’s own Restricted Substances List. Lamar described the item as effectively “swimming” in phthalates, pointing to links with endocrine disruption, heart disease, and other severe health impacts, particularly for children and unborn babies.
At least a quarter of the failed items were bought on or marketed through Meta-owned platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Instagram, according to AAFA’s published findings.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America expected to drive a surge in demand for national team shirts, Lamar urged consumers – and by extension the brands that serve them – to “stick to the real deal”, stressing that prices on authentic product reflect the cost of product safety, factory oversight and environmental compliance that counterfeiters avoid.
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