Designing the antidote to counterfeit culture

Six university students from around China had the chance to apply their creativity by turning knockoff goods into other types of useful products at a competition held at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, as part of a novel program on how to dispose of seized fake products.

All the materials used by the students came from fake products amassed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, which organized the competition together with the China Youth Daily, China University Media Union and the Shanghai-based nonprofit organization Adream Foundation.

Since 2011, Alibaba has implemented spot checks on products sold on Taobao, the group's online shopping portal, and initiated corresponding sanctions for retailers who were caught selling counterfeits. These products are sealed up and stored for three years to be used as evidence in potential lawsuits, and those remaining after this time are destroyed.