In response to the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, AAFA president and CEO Steve Lamar said the trade body was encouraged to see longstanding concerns reflected more clearly particularly those tied to social and commerce-driven platforms. He said AAFA is “pleased” to see USTR, “recognise existing concerns across e-commerce and social media sites, including mentioning Meta’s Facebook and Instagram. This is an important step to help raise awareness of the scourge of dangerous counterfeits.”

The annual USTR notorious markets report identifies physical markets and digital platforms around the world that are believed to facilitate the distribution of pirated or counterfeit goods and services. The review draws on submissions from rights holders and other stakeholders and is intended to spotlight areas where enforcement and cooperation may need to intensify.

AAFA said it submits evidence each year highlighting marketplaces and platforms that, in its view, enable and profit from counterfeit trade activity it argues puts businesses, workers and consumers at risk while eroding US innovation. In its autumn 2025 submission, AAFA recommended several platforms for inclusion in the 2025 report, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, and marketplaces operated by Alibaba Group and Shopee.

In line with findings from previous years, the 2025 report also underscored how counterfeit demand is increasingly being shaped by social commerce. Submissions cited in the review describe patterns where users are encouraged to search for counterfeit items via social platforms, including through influencer activity. The report notes the growing popularity of influencers who review and promote counterfeit luxury goods, sharing links that intentionally steer audiences toward purchasing fakes through pages listed in their social profiles.

USTR said it plans to continue engaging with the platforms in question and outlined steps that e-commerce and social commerce operators can take to address the problem. These include adopting stronger IP enforcement policies, improving transparency, collaborating more closely with rights holders to resolve complaints quickly, and working with law enforcement to identify and disrupt infringement networks.

AAFA senior director of brand protection Jennifer Hanks said member companies are already investing heavily to combat counterfeit activity online, but argued that platform-level safeguards still need to improve particularly in preventing consumers from being pushed off-platform into fraudulent sites.

“In addition to USTR’s emphasis on global marketplaces, all domestic platforms should institute more proactive, preventative measures to address dangerous counterfeits, fraudulent advertisements and ways to take consumers off platform to fraudulent websites.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with USTR, Congress, and the Trump Administration to advance initiatives to address issues across the Digital Devalue Chain of Counterfeits,” added Hanks.

Lamar also emphasised that enforcement is not only a brand-protection issue but a consumer-safety and fair-competition issue, especially in apparel and footwear where IP theft risk is high. He argued counterfeiters gain a pricing advantage by avoiding compliance costs and ethical sourcing standards that legitimate companies invest in.

“Legitimate brands invest millions to make sure products are responsibly made and ethically sourced. Counterfeiters can largely avoid those extra costs,” Lamar said.

Earlier this month, AAFA published research focused on the safety implications of counterfeit fashion. The report, Unboxing Fake Fashion Unleashing Real Dangers, found a 41% safety failure rate and cited evidence that fake apparel, footwear and accessories can pose serious chemical and product safety risks to consumers.

The latest data reveals that in 2024, compared to 2023, the production of nonwovens in Greater Europe increased by 2.6% in volume, reaching 2,976,400 tonnes, and by 2.9% in surface area, resulting in a total of 85.1 billion square meters produced. However, varying trends were noted at the national level among Greater European countries, as well as across different nonwoven production processes and market segments.

Jacques Prigneaux, EDANA’s Market Analysis and Economic Affairs Director, elaborated on these trends: “In the aftermath of two consecutive declines of more than 5% in 2022 and 2023, the production of nonwovens in Greater Europe has reverted to its pre-pandemic level in terms of weight. At the same time, the production in surface area grew faster, resulting in an average grammage of 34.9 gsm, as opposed to the 37.2 gsm recorded in 2019.”

Wetlaid nonwovens, which saw a notable decrease in 2023, exhibited the highest growth rates this year. In contrast, airlaid was the only web-forming method to experience a decline in 2024, although it had shown growth the previous year. Spunmelt production continues to lead in terms of surface area.

Drylaid showed modest growth, driven by positive trends in the production and sales of air-through and hydro-entangled materials.

The primary end-use for nonwovens remains in the hygiene sector, which accounted for 27% of deliveries, totaling 797,300 tons, and demonstrating a 1.7% increase in 2024. Last year, the segments that experienced the most significant growth in nonwovens included building and roofing materials (+14.2%), food and beverage applications (+13%), cotton pads (+4.9%), and personal care wipes (+4.8%).

Prigneaux remarked, “thanks to data collected in two units, our statistics provide EDANA members with the opportunity to thoroughly analyze trends in tonnage and surface area across 11 production processes and at least 83 market segments.”

EDANA expresses gratitude to all participating companies that contributed to the data collection effort. Their valuable input ensures a precise and comprehensive portrayal of the nonwovens market. “Without the input from participating companies,” Jacques Prigneaux stated, “these figures could not have been compiled, and we would like to thank them again for their efforts in sending their input to us. This data, combined with continuous monitoring of the industry, guarantees that EDANA statistics serve as a valuable planning and benchmarking instrument for all member companies.”