Are These Authentic Champion Products?

We had a question from a customer recently that is worth answering in detail. The customer wanted to know whether we're offering authentic Champion merchandise. Of course, we know we're authorized by Hanes, who owns the Champion brand, to sell Champion goods here on Pricestyle.com, but how can the average purchaser know that they're buying the real deal?

We answered this way:

"Your concern about product authenticity is valid, however, Champion products are not so high priced as to be worth counterfeiting, if one were so inclined. Further, a reverse-weave fabric product is not cheap to make, thus closing the interest index for an enterprising importer.

"That being said, you can verify the authenticity of Champion products in a number of ways, taken together, will assure you have a genuine product. The tags should be included (most Champion products bear tags) on which the barcode and model number, size and color, will be printed. On the garment itself, there will be a neck tag (for shirts, hoodies and the like), usually pad or screen printed and also an identifying tag along with the fabric care tag, on which the model number and barcode (or just the barcode) with origin information will appear. Finally, the Champion logo as an embroidered applique will appear on the sleeve or left chest or near the left pocket, depending on the product.

"One thing to be cautious of is certain Champion t-shirts, crews and hoodies are not meant for resale and are only to be used by garment decorators. That's part of our business, so we're aware of this restriction. The so-called C9 Champion t-shirt, for instance, in the garment decorator edition, does not have a left-chest logo. That's so we can silk-screen the full front of the product. The Champion logo will still appear as an embroidered applique on the left sleeve, about 1.5 inches from the edge of a short-sleeve model and about 1 to 1.5 inches above the cuff on long-sleeve models."

That's a lot of information, certainly, but to sum it up

• Is the product coming from a legitimate, authorized retailer?
• Are the products configured as originally designed?
• Are the tags all there, including sewn-in tags
• Are there colours or designs that can't be found on the manufacturer's website?

That last one is a dead giveaway for counterfeits, of which more might be found of very expensive sports-oriented brands. If there's no Kelly Green zip-up hoodie on Champion's website, and it's not a special run (of at least 10,000, by the way), it may be a knock-off.

So, know what you're buying and be aware of who you're doing business with for the best possible shopping experience.