Global demand for Labubus, the cute-ugly plush elf dolls embraced by celebrities like Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and David Beckham, has led to a flood of counterfeits that reveal a dark and dangerous side of the toy business.

全球对Labubu的需求激增，这款丑萌的毛绒精灵玩偶受到蕾哈娜、金·卡戴珊和大卫·贝克汉姆等名人青睐，随之涌现的大量假货则揭示了玩具行业的阴暗面。

The dupes are known as Lafufus, presumably because of their fake nature, and they, too, have fans who make up a subculture of the wider craze. But the fakes have alarmed buyers, consumer protection agencies and customs officials on multiple continents, as well as Pop Mart, the Chinese company that has been making Labubus since 2019.

可能因其“山寨”属性，这些仿冒品被称为Lafufu，它们同样拥有追随者，在这场大范围的热潮中形成了一个亚文化群体。但这些假货已引起各大洲买家、消费者保护机构、海关官员，以及自2019年起开始生产Labubu的中国公司泡泡玛特的警惕。

Not only have they generated consumer complaints, but officials have also flagged safety risks and potentially hazardous chemicals linked to Lafufus.

假货不仅引发了消费者投诉，官员们还指出Lafufu存在安全隐患，并检测出可能含有有害化学物质。

The real collectibles took off after the K-pop star Lisa of Blackpink was seen on social media carrying little Labubus on her bag and hugging a big one last year. The Labubu craze has caused Pop Mart’s sales to surge, with revenue for the first half of the year amounting to more than $1.9 billion, surpassing revenue for all of 2024, the company said last week.

去年，韩国流行音乐组合BLACKPINK成员Lisa在社交媒体上晒出包上挂着小Labubu、怀里抱着大Labubu的照片，此后正版收藏款便迅速走红。泡泡玛特上周表示，Labubu的热潮推动公司销售额大幅增长，今年上半年营收超过19亿美元，已超过2024年全年营收。

That success has been fueled by the way some of the dolls are sold. They often arrive in “blind boxes,” so that buyers don’t know what they will find inside. That generates excitement as unboxing videos amass on social media. But the element of mystery has made it easier for fakes to flood the market.

该玩偶的成功在一定程度上得益于其独特的销售模式，它们常以“盲盒”形式发售，买家无法预知盒中是哪款玩偶。这种模式激发了购买热情，社交媒体上的拆盒视频也因此大量涌现。但这种神秘性也为假货充斥市场提供了可乘之机。

In Britain, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, a nonprofit organization that works with the government on consumer protection issues, put out “an urgent warning” this month about the rise in sales of counterfeit Labubus. It said that the fakes were “poorly made in unsafe manufacturing premises” and might contain hazardous chemicals that “can cause lifetime damage to a child’s organs.”

在英国，与政府合作处理消费者保护事务的非营利组织英国特许贸易标准协会本月就仿冒Labubu销量上升发布“紧急警告”。该协会称，这些假货“产自不安全的生产场所，做工粗糙”，且可能含有有害化学物质，“可能对儿童器官造成终身损害”。

The institute said its teams had seized thousands of dolls from stores in England and Scotland, partly based on tips from parents. It added that it was investigating the glut of counterfeits in connection with organized crime groups.

该协会表示，其工作人员已从英格兰和苏格兰的商铺查获了数以千计的仿冒玩偶，部分线索来自家长举报。此外，协会正就假货泛滥现象与有组织犯罪集团的关联展开调查。

In July, news media in Cyprus reported that customs officials had conducted raids targeting counterfeit Labubus across the island, pulling more than 1,300 fake dolls and products from stores. They similarly warned of safety risks, the reports said.

7月，塞浦路斯新闻媒体报道称，海关官员在全岛范围内开展了针对仿冒Labubu的突击检查，从店面查获了1300多个假玩偶及相关产品。报道指出，海关同样就其安全风险发出了警告。

北京，一个爱马仕包上佩戴的Labubu玩具挂饰。该玩具的热销催生了大量仿制品。

Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said it had ordered the seizure of thousands of units of counterfeit dolls at ports, warning that Lafufus violate a ban on small parts for children under 3 years old, “break apart easily” and pose “a serious risk of choking and death.”

上周，美国消费者产品安全委员会表示，已下令在港口查获数以千计的仿冒玩偶，并警告称Lafufu违反了禁止三岁以下儿童使用的产品采用小零件的规定，这些假货“极易碎裂”，存在“严重的窒息和致命风险”。

The Better Business Bureau also issued a warning about the fakes after grievances piled up on its “scam tracker.” As of Tuesday, a search on the tracker for “Labubu” yielded more than 100 complaints, including a grandparent who had unwittingly sent a granddaughter fakes for her birthday.

商业改进局在收到大量投诉后，也对假冒产品发出了警告。截至周二，在该机构的“诈骗追踪器”上搜索Labubu关键词，已显示超过100起投诉案例，其中包括一位祖父（母）在孙女生日时不知情地寄送了假冒产品。

Some complaints also highlighted the dangers that consumer groups had raised, including a person from Virginia who on Saturday wrote about receiving six dolls from a seller purporting to offering genuine Labubus. They were all defective, with one arriving without one of its hands. A person in California wrote on Aug. 12 that a scammer had promised real Labubus but sent “broken toys.”

部分投诉还凸显了消费者组织此前指出的风险：弗吉尼亚州一名消费者周六称，从一名声称售卖正版Labubu的卖家处购买了六个玩偶，结果全是残次品，其中一个甚至缺了一只手；加利福尼亚州一名消费者8月12日表示，诈骗者承诺售卖正版Labubu，实际发来的却是“破损的玩具”。

The Chinese customs authorities have said they are working to stem the tide of fakes. In June, they confiscated more than 200,000 counterfeit Labubu products. Last month, they reported almost daily seizures, amounting to tens of thousands of dolls.

中国海关部门表示正采取措施遏制假货流通。6月，中国海关查获了20多万件仿冒Labubu产品；上个月几乎每天都有查获记录，累计查获数万个假玩偶。

The mania for the monster characters, which were created in 2015 by Kasing Lung, an artist born in Hong Kong and raised in the Netherlands, has prompted Pop Mart to police its intellectual property aggressively.

Labubu这一怪兽玩偶由生于香港、长于荷兰的艺术家龙家升于2015年创作。围绕它引发的狂热风潮促使泡泡玛特积极开展知识产权保护工作。

Pop Mart’s subsidiary in Singapore sued 7-Eleven and some of its stores in federal court in California last month, accusing the chain, which helps franchisees stock their locations, of intellectual property law violations.

上个月，泡泡玛特在新加坡的子公司向美国加利福尼亚州联邦法院起诉7-11连锁便利店及其部分门店，指控这家协助加盟商补货的连锁企业侵犯知识产权。

The complaint, which 7-Eleven must reply to next month, seeks damages and fees, and demands that the franchise shut down the sales. 7-Eleven did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

7-11需在下个月作出回应。该诉讼要求对方赔偿损失及相关费用，并责令该特许经营体系停止销售仿冒产品。7-11未立即回应有关该诉讼的置评请求。

巴黎一家泡泡玛特店里的Labubu精灵玩偶。中国海关表示正努力遏制假货泛滥的趋势。

Pop Mart appears to be trying to capture the Lafufu trend to defend its original brand. According to Sixth Tone, a Chinese state-owned publication, the company applied in July for a trademark for the “Lafufu” name in China.

泡泡玛特似乎正试图借Lafufu这一仿冒品热潮来保护原创品牌。据中国官方媒体《第六声》报道，该公司已于7月在中国申请注册“Lafufu”商标。

But some collectors on TikTok saying Labubu mania is already fading, meaning demand could fizzle before the company manages to take control of the tide of fakes.

但TikTok上部分收藏者表示，Labubu热潮已开始降温。这意味着，或许在泡泡玛特控制住假货泛滥的局面之前，市场需求就已逐渐消退。