Sarah Palin’s 7-year-old daughter, Piper, was recently photographed carrying a knock-off Louis Vuitton purse.

Now, before I get into this column, I just want to say that what I am about to write is not really about politics. If one of Obama’s daughters was carrying around a fake handbag, I would write the exact same thing I am going to write now.

People need to stop buying counterfeit goods, and in particular, knockoff designer bags. I don’t say this because I am a horrible snob who thinks that people should only own designer things. I say this because the counterfeiting industry is big and most people don’t even realize how much damage it causes both at home and abroad.

According to Harper’s Bazaar, which partners with the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, counterfeiting deals in money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking and child labor. Counterfeiting can even fund terrorist activities. I realize that this sounds melodramatic, especially the bit about funding terrorism, but it’s all at least partially true.

In 2003, Ronald K. Noble, the Secretary General of Interpol, said law authorities are “seeing the connection in terrorist financing and intellectual property crime,” and he testified that thousands of counterfeit goods have gone to Hezbollah, and even supporters of Al-Qaeda have been caught with large amounts of fakes.

Some counterfeit experts believe counterfeit goods helped fund the Sept. 11 attacks because they found flight manuals for the same type of plane used in the attacks with Arabic notations on them when they conducted a raid in New York City. This could have been a coincidence, but I still think it is important to note that the coalition has found known terrorists that deal in counterfeit goods.

But even if you don’t buy the whole terrorism thing, think about the child laborer who was forced to make your knockoff black and white or black and pink Chanel bag that seriously every girl on campus owns. This isn’t just hearsay; many child-employing sweatshops have been raided and been found to have countless counterfeit goods.

A writer at Harper’s Bazaar saw firsthand the sweatshops that children are employed in producing counterfeit goods when she witnessed a raid in Guangzhou, China. Plus, a private investigator told the magazine that he has seen children in counterfeiting operations who have had their legs broken and improperly reset so they cannot leave or go out on the streets to play.

Counterfeiting is a horrific industry, and we really need to band together to stop supporting it. And ladies, if you think you are fooling people with those bags, think again.

A real bag similar to the Chanel or Louis Vuitton one you tote around to class is worth something around $1,000, usually more. I’m sorry if I don’t believe that you have that kind of money to drop on a bag. Dooney and Bourke, Coach, maybe Kate Spade, those I can understand. For the most part, they cost only a couple hundred, and I am more likely to believe you can afford that. But don’t forget that a real luxury bag is of great quality and would look flawless. It wouldn’t have strings hanging off, and the monogram would not be broken up by stitching- two common problems that the bags around campus have.

Even bags sold at purse parties to private party-goers are a part of this awful industry. Yet, for the most part, people do not even realize this.

Hopefully you will choose to forgo buying a knockoff in the future. As for Sarah Palin, I am a little surprised that she would let her daughter carry around a fake bag, as I am sure the McCain camp knows how problematic the counterfeit industry is. After all, if we were to look at it strictly from an economic stand-point, which is what the election is all about now, according to the coalition, counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses $200 billion to $250 billion annually. Counterfeit merchandise is directly responsible for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs, according to the same organization. Does Palin, or anyone for that matter, really want to support an industry that actively hurts Americans? I hope not.

Colleen is a senior in Media, and she wants you to know that counterfeiting doesn’t deal just in designer handbags, but she thought those were the most prevalent knockoffs seen around campus. She can be reached at [email protected].