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Babywearing mamas, while you & I have been working so hard to buy the very BEST for our babies, there is a group of moms who would risk the safety of their children to save a few dollars… a group on FaceBook just imported a bunch of counterfeit “Ergo” baby carriers from China, and the repercussions of this mistake could be terrible!!!!
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#1 – The mom involved with the importation of illegal goods could go to jail! The FBI is now involved, and things sound pretty serious! So sad since she is a normal WAHM who just wanted to make her group of friends happy by offering them a “great deal!”
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#2 – Selling/ buying a baby carrier that hasn’t been weight tested or lead tested undermines the Baby Carrier Safety Standards that we have all been working so hard to comply with, in order to prove that babywearing is SAFE. Due to misunderstandings about the safety and culture of babywearing, the media and “big box” baby carrier manufacturers have been looking for a way to shut us down, and an accident involving one of these “fake” Ergo baby carriers would be JUST the thing to “prove” that babywearing should be restricted and limited!
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#3 – The decision to buy a potentially dangerous carrier is a PERSONAL decision that these moms have chosen for themselves and their poor helpless babies – UNTIL the day comes that they decide to resell their “Ergo” carrier on a carrier swap board, the FSOT boards at TheBabyWearer.com, Craigslist, or eBay! I highly doubt that they will be listing these carriers as counterfeit Ergos purchased illegally from China! You or any other babywearing mama could innocently buy a dangerous carrier without even realizing it!
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#4 – Just because it looks pretty on the outside, doesn’t mean it’s pretty on the inside! Ergo and every other reputable baby carrier company sold through baby carrier stores are following strict instructions on how to manufacture their carrier safely – down to using fabrics and dyes safe for contact with sensitive baby skin and what kind of stitching needs to secure the straps to the body! There is no way of knowing whether these fake carriers have followed safety standards or whether the straps could rip as shown on this meh dai “knock-off”!!! For $30, I’m not willing to risk my baby’s safety; what about you!!!???!!!
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A counterfeit Freehand meh dai rips when stress tested.
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By posting and warning the parents who chose to buy the counterfeit Ergos, we are attempting to prevent consequences that could lead to the government regulating the babywearing culture into non-existence. To spot a fake carrier, read this information on how to distinguish a fake from the real deal!!!! Save our babies – protect our babywearing world – shop smart – keep the proof of purchase when you buy a carrier – don’t get tricked into buying a fake carrier!!!!
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A quick note to thank all of our wonderful baby carrier manufacturers who have paid MORE to keep their production in the USA, who have worked diligently to ensure that the factories being used overseas are fair and equitable, and to the baby carrier manufacturers and vendors who have all stood up together these past 2 days to keep our babies safe! THANK YOU!!!!!!
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Wow. This poor mom was just trying to help her friends get a good deal and you are trying to portray her as someone endangering babies. She’s just as much of a victim. Shame on you.
I wish she was an innocent victim, Jennifer! Unfortunately, multiple people tried to warn her of the dangers of importing illegal merchandise and the danger these fake carriers could bring to our babies. She very clearly stated that she didn’t care. 🙁
Thanks for this post Jillian! There is no shame in wanting babies to be safe! I’m glad to have this information as I would never want to endanger my baby to save money!
I never stated that I do not care. I told you and everyone else that we had No knowledge that buying from china was illegal! We were given this link from people who wanted to purchase the carriers. We looked it over and told them we did not think they were real, they said they didnt care. We also dont sell anything, We just place the order to the manufacturer for the women who wish to purchase. Very, very few of these were purchased and now that we know we have told you and everyone else we wont be ordering from them again! You have taken it upon yourself to give out my personal email, name, fb page, address, and other details and are working day and night to assemble a lynch mob against me. You say its sad that the FBI is involved (btw I have yet to hear from anyone you have contacted) thats only because you wont stop!! it seens you dont plan on stopping until I am taken from my 3 small children and stoned to death. Your viscious personaly attacks need to stop. You are selling a one sided story, SERIOUSLY lacking the facts!
Jennifer, She is not an innocent victim. She has known all along they are fakes. I would NEVER put my child or anyone else’s child in danger just to help my friends “get a good deal”. This is so sad….
Thanks for this information! It’s sad that some moms are willing to save a little cash but risk the safety of their children. I just saw the clips from the “ergo’s” that she posted on fb and wow, those do not look safe at all. Definitely would NOT trust my child in that thing.
The importer is not a “victim”, she is responsible for her actions when she choose to knowingly import an illegal product!
How could she be a victim? She was made aware of the fact that they were fake. A simple phone call to Ergo could have provided her with the information that the company she ordered them from was NOT an authorized seller.
I see many in her defense spouting how people buy knock off bags and such……um yes, but have you ever seen those sellers run like the wind from their respective corner as soon as a cop car approaches? They know what they are doing is illegal, so how on earth is it that an individual could see a known knock off (counterfeit Ergo tag and all) and not know she was breaking the law?
I also wanted to add the I don’t use my fake Coach bag to carry my child…And I DO have a fake Coach bag; but I promise you my Ergo is real (:
As a responsible baby wearer and carrier supplier, Jillian did the right thing by warning the women of the co-op about the dangers. It was ignored. The person who imported them is not a victim, she knew they were fake, and that’s illegal, and it’s dangerous.
Aside from safety issues, even if she was trying to help moms get a good deal (if we can even call an inferior carrier a good deal), it’s ILLEGAL. The company in question is using fake tags and such with Ergo’s brand on them. You can’t just take any company’s trademarked name/logo and slap it on something that is NOT made by them. And this woman KNOWS the carriers are fake, which makes it even worse. Warning someone that it may be fake doesn’t make it better.
Wow some friend *eyeroll. I can’t believe someone even defended this.oftentimes our actions affect others this instance could have hurt innocent babies. On a larger scale this could have affected the baby wearing industry in general. Shame shame.
It’s also worth noting that the WAHM who organized this co-op did ask her source for “Ergos” if they were authentic. The response she got was cryptic, she published it on her website & stated that her interpertation of the email was that they were infact authentic Ergos. She had many people involved in the co-op who believed they were getting a real Ergo.
One thing I think that there seems to be confusion on is the difference between off-brand and illegally imported knock off. One comment that was made in defense of the co-op was that a supporter felt that all of the Mamas who have a problem with the fake “Ergos” likely bought “knock-offs” in their daily life too (i.e. food, auto parts etc etc etc all made in China). THE DIFFERENCE IS THESE ARE ALL REGULATED!!!!!!!!! (although, unfortunately not always well, they are still all regulated, unlike these fake Ergos). The off-brand products are not being sold under a false name without the real company’s knowledge. They have their own brand name (therefore it isn’t ILLEGAL). Secondly, because they are regulated, they are less likely (we hope) to be unsafe, even if they do come from China. These fake Ergos are considered illegal imports because not only are they using a trademarked company name that is not theirs, but because they have IN NO WAY been tested or deemed safe. If a Mom thinks that’s good enough for her little one, that is her prerogative (although still illegal). It should be obvious why concern exists that these fake, unregulated, very likely unsafe, illegal “Ergos” will flood the swaps and other resale venues to unknowingly be bought by Mamas who would not chose to buy such a risky carrier if they knew what they were getting. The utter lack of logic on this issue is appalling. To act as if the women who take issue with this co-op are just a bunch of uptight busy-bodies with too much time on their hands (just some sentiments that I’ve seen voiced), is laughable. It may not matter to you (general) that you don’t know what kind of quality you’re carrying your baby with, but to the majority of us, it does. Not because we’re snobs, but because safety is paramount when it’s something that is holding our children (just like carseats, cribs, highchairs, etc, etc, etc, etc). It is sad that the women who are trying to keep babywearing safe are the ones being slammed for stepping up and saying something. The whole point of buying an Ergo is quality, safety, and comfort for your child. You are guaranteed none of those things with an illegally imported fake Ergo, so why even bother purchasing one??
Thank you again Jillian. The vast majority of us think you rock.
I’m kind of surprised that no one has mentioned how devastating this is to Ergo. This company started with a WAHM. Cheating the company out sales further degrades our own economy. It amazes me that everyone complains about the recession, but instead of buy quality, we buy quantity, for our lender — basic economics anyone??
Thank you, Jillian. I’m so happy you made a post about this and that the word is getting around.
As for the seller being a victim, give me a freakin’ break. Boo hoo. She chose this path knowing that these were fake. No pitty party coming from my end for her.
<3 your comment Amber. It's killing our economy that we don't manufacture hardly anything here anymore. It seems like no one really gets that:(. I would love to buy all USA-made products, but it seems so freaking hard to do.
Buying from China is not the issue. It is buying FAKE merchandise that is a problem. And I have screen shots that show you DID know they were fake and you didn’t care.
That is awful!! Thanks for the warning!! I have wanted an ergo for a while and I probably would have bought one thinking that they are ok. Thanks for the warning!!
I won’t buy a fake purse or a fake Ergo. It really bothers me that our so-called morals are so lacking that we willingly pay liars and cheaters for fake merchandise because we have a need for status items.
Better to have a real, used Ergo than a fake, new knock-off.
Thank you, Jillian.
It was the mama’s responsibility to make sure that the products she was disbursing were safe products. It was irresponsible not to do so. Whether or not she *knew* they were fake, she should have at least looked into their safety. She is to blame for that much. The “I didn’t know card” just means you are at fault for not knowing. Sorry, but these aren’t fake purses. They are something you put your most precious cargo into – your baby!
Thanks Jillian for doing the right thing and spreading awareness for the SAFETY of all our babies!!!!!
Thank you for warning everyone…regardless of who did what, I appreciate being warned!
But IMO anyone knowingly involved in scams like this especially involving human lives..YOUNG human lives.. at that, should be punished to the full extent of the law.
Thank you, Kimberly! I agree 🙁
Just got suckered into a fake Beco Butterfly 2 only I paid market price and the only reason i bought off ebay was because it was discontinued 🙁 I Pray I can get my money back and invest in a real carrier 🙁
OH NO!!!
I found a baby carrier at my local thrift store. Everything checks out from stress test to company info and website EXCEPT the Batch number. It says G1REC122012
I hoping it means Reconditioned or something, please help!
It is the beco butterfly espresso which i forgot to mention