It has gotten cold here in Beijing and I was in need of a warm winter coat.
Like any big city, there are many shopping options that range in price from dirt cheap to ridiculously expensive and all of the major brand names are available.
Though I am no expert on shopping here, I do see branded clothing sold in a host of venues from the posh expat zones to the alleyway stalls. It is often difficult to tell which items are real and which are fake since so many of the real products are made in China.
I went to my local outdoor market that offers fresh vegetables, aromatic stews and sides of dog when I spotted a stall with a nice selection of winter coats. I rifled through the various coats that included brands like Nike, Adidas and Arc’teryx and found an appropriately subdued dark blue jacket that had the Columbia brand over the upper left pocket.
Normally I eschew labels but since the price was right (about $27) I paused a moment to consider it a contender for being my new best friend this winter.
At this point my wife had had enough of my early morning meandering (it was 21 degrees) so she pressed me to buy the jacket. I paused another moment. Knowing my distaste for logos she said, “Well, at least it is your home brand.”. True enough, Columbia is based in the state where I was born (Oregon) and the Columbia River is near and dear to every Oregonian’s heart.
I bought the jacket even though I felt a twinge of wrongdoing since the jacket was a knock-off and no money will be going back to Oregon.
And then the justifications for my misbehavior began:
As an obvious foreigner, having me advertise for Columbia is good for them in this rich and brand-conscious city that looks abroad for status goods.
If I chose not to buy the Columbia jacket and instead bought a non-branded jacket then there would be no chance that Columbia would benefit whatsoever from my wrongdoing.
Though Columbia puts money into marketing their brand in China, if someone sees me wearing a knock-off it is unlikely that their brand will suffer.
Since there was no chance of me purchasing a Columbia jacket at their official store, buying a knock-off is at least showing partial allegiance to the quality of their brand.
What if my attraction to the Columbia brand really is just my allegiance to the river? If so, how does the river benefit from my purchase of a counterfeit jacket with its name on it?
And finally I got home and was able to take the damn thing off.
