Counterfeiting increases toxic agrochemicals and threatens the food supply and widespread air and water pollution

The environmental costs of counterfeiting are often understated, but cannot be ignored. Counterfeit products are often accompanied by environmentally-damaging consequences, either at the time of manufacture, the time of use, or the time of disposal. With respect to counterfeit manufacturing practices, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported that while responsible manufacturers try to improve their environmental impact standards, “counterfeiters enjoy the cost savings of dirty production. In short, anywhere that the international community attempts to establish good practice standards for industry, counterfeiters undercut them.”110

Furthermore, the use of counterfeit agrochemical products appear to be significant and on the rise.111 Unregulated fertilizers or pesticides have destroyed harvests and poisoned farmland.112 These products pose serious environmental risks, including infecting food chains and harming ecosystems. For example, counterfeit fertilizers have been reported to have caused serious damage and destruction of harvests in large areas in China, Russia, Ukraine, and Italy.

Counterfeit pesticides exported from China and India have been found to include toxic ingredients such as nicotine sulphate, which is deadly to humans, and has been distributed to unknowing buyers throughout Europe.113 It is estimated that more than 25 percent of the pesticides in circulation in parts of Europe may be illicit or counterfeit.114

Additionally, illicit trade-based operations have been associated with the mishandling of toxic chemicals, including outlawed chemicals and toxic dyes. This contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases polluting the air, as well as polluting soil and water systems.115