Preety Dey, a private company employee in Dhaka, regularly buys skin care products, but she gets very confused when she goes to shops as counterfeit and substandard cosmetics are flooding the market which increases people’s health risks.

“Now most of the people use cosmetics for various reasons. The demand for the products goes up during the winter season. I purchase both local and imported products, but I become confused when I go to shops to buy cosmetics due to the availability of counterfeit cosmetics in markets. As a conscious person, I try to read the description on packets of cosmetics to get assured about the product’s quality,” she said.

Preety claimed that counterfeit and substandard cosmetics are used at different beauty parlours too. Even many men and women use the adulterated products sold at cheap rates. Due to using these cosmetics, common people are being cheated and suffering from various skin diseases, including itching and eczema.

“The prices of both local and imported cosmetics have increased vastly in the last one year. For example, I used to purchase an imported lipstick at Tk350-Tk400 a year ago, which is now sold at Tk650-Tk700,” she said.

“Both low quality and high end products are used at parlours. Price hikes are a problem for consumers.               

I generally go to parlour 8-10 times in a year. In general, make-up costs range between Tk1,000 and Tk10,000 at a time. The cost depends on product ranges and quality as well as brands,” she said.

ANM Mohibub Uz Zaman, a private company employee, said he was cheated while purchasing sunscreen and face wash items recently from different shops in the capital.

“After using the products, I see black spots on my skin and feel itchy. Later, I stopped using the products,” he said.

Actor Mamnun Hasan Emon highlighted that people had a weakness for foreign products as quality products were not produced in the country for a long time. Big companies used to give more focus on hiring skilled marketing and sales persons instead of focusing on the products’ quality.

He said earlier, heavy investments were made in advertising, promotion and product sales. There has been no investment in basic areas including research and factory management. This amounts to cheating the buyers.

“However, quality products are now being produced in the country, so the buyers’ interest in domestic brands like Remark HB Limited is increasing,” Emon also said.

Counterfeit products key challenge for the industry

In conversation with the Daily Sun, Monir Hossain, owner of Monir’s Beauty Lounge, highlighted that counterfeit products, competition, and declining clients are major challenges nowadays for them.

“Counterfeit products hamper the industry’s growth. Many clients suffer health risks due to the use of counterfeit cosmetics bought at cheap rates. Besides, many people set up beauty parlours watching YouTube or Facebook videos without receiving any training, or academic and practical knowledge. As a result, they cannot know the use of cosmetics properly which negatively impacts clients’ skins,” he also claimed.

Monir said he was trained in India. He set up parlours in the UK in 2016, and another one in Dhaka in 2018. “I used to work in movies, including some featuring Shah Rukh Khan. I am a professional artist. I have 25 years of experience in the industry. However, there are huge parlours where counterfeit cosmetics are used. Many people also take their services for their cheap rates,” he added.

He said, “I use several hundreds of cosmetics. Of this 75% are imported products.  I charge Tk5,000-Tk35,000. I take Tk20,000-Tk30,000 for grooming a bride while many others using counterfeit products charge Tk3,000. There are around 10 lakh parlours in Bangladesh where around 40 lakh people are engaged in the sector.”

Skin care expert Dr Sharmina Haq said people are suffering from various complex diseases including skin cancer due to using fake and adulterated products.

“The only way to avoid this is to use quality products. We expect that the country’s people will use quality products. People should be aware of this. Besides, companies should manufacture quality products through research and latest technology,” she also said.

She added that there was a total market of skin care products valued at $1.23 billion in Bangladesh in 2019 which will grow to $2.12 Billion in 2027. However, it is a potential market. Counterfeit products impede growth to some extent. So, innovative and secure packing forms are needed to prevent it.

Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection (DNCRP) Director Abdul Jalil said it will create serious health risks in people’s lives, if the market is flooded with counterfeit cosmetics. Many have already faced losses by using fake products. Financial crisis is increasing day by day in their families due to expensive treatment. That is why there is no alternative to producing world standard cosmetics products in the country.

Businesses of beauty parlours, imported cosmetics nosedive

Both traders and beauty parlour owners claimed that their businesses have declined immensely after the mass revolution led by students on 5 August as a lot of people from affluent families under pressure are avoiding parlours.

“Besides, higher dollar rate, taxes, and rents of shops and houses create another pressure for businessmen,” Mustafa Kamal, owner of Loyalty International said.

Mustafa highlighted that the prices of the imported products increased enormously after the dollar rate hiked in Bangladesh and a restriction on import of luxurious products was imposed by the fascist Awami League government which stepped down on 5 August.

“The dollar price has increased to around Tk120 which was only Tk70-Tk80 earlier. Besides, importers cannot open letter of credit (LC). How will we do business?,” he asked.

“I have over 2,000 types of cosmetics of different brands from countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and India as rich family members always look for the foreign brand’s products. I supply those to super shops, beauty parlours, pharmacies and others,” he added.

Mustafa said there are both quality and counterfeit products in markets. The imported cosmetics enter Bangladesh through both legal and illegal ways.  The demand for imported products will always remain in the market despite boosting the local cosmetics industry.

Meanwhile, the Monir said their business declined around 70% after the mass revolution as rich people avoid coming to parlours. Besides, the prices of cosmetics continue to rise. As a result, the beauty parlour business is also going through a tough period.

Awareness, research, quality products stressed

Association of Skincare and Beauty Products Manufacturers and Exporters of Bangladesh (ASBPMEB) General Secretary Jamal Uddin said customers were cheated with substandard and adulterated cosmetics products for long.

“Even after a long time, DNCRP is working to prevent adulteration. As a result, awareness has increased among people. However, several companies are now investing heavily in advanced formulation research to manufacture quality cosmetic products. The local cosmetics sector has a huge potential. I think that the Bangladesh government can collect Tk1,000 crore revenues from the cosmetic sector” he also said.

He said counterfeit cosmetics are just as dangerous as adulterated pharmaceutical products or foods. It’s a health hazard, and it directly impacts the bottom line of cosmetic brands. In 2020, cosmetic companies suffered a loss of $5.16 billion in lost sales due to counterfeiting. The loss of brand reputation and sales makes it necessary for brands to implement anti-counterfeiting solutions.

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) Deputy Director (Chemical) Morshada Begum said, “We are trying to ensure that quality products are marketed. Besides, before marketing the new product, we are working on the quality of the product, and packaging as well.”

She highlighted that BSTI emphasises on quality assurance of exportable products. The institution has enabled companies to bring 30% of the total production under BSTI quality certificate.

Talking to the Daily Sun, Director General of the DNCRP Mohammad Alim Akhter Khan said, “We all know that all types of counterfeit products increase health risks. Besides, making fake products or copying other brands is definitely an unjust act.”

He stressed that they will conduct drives if someone informs them about the illegal activities at any place in the country.