Special Report Using AI provides protection to businesses
Plantable pencil company uses AI to combat fakes
CEO and founder of SproutWorld, Michael Stausholm, explains how his company has saved a huge amount of money and time using an AI based tool to fight fake plantable pencils online.
According to research by
MarkMonitor, almost half of brands are now losing sales to counterfeit goods (47%).
Michael Stausholm F
akes and counterfeits are a real issue in the world of promotional products. Anything that involves a brand and reputation is at risk; be it from domain threats, IP infringements, impersonation or unauthorised sellers – to name just a few things.
It’s a huge industry: five years ago, the total value of counterfeit products being sold globally exceeded $1.8 trillion and it will have grown substantially since then.
| 72 | April 2025
The impact is not just on those immediate sales that are taken by a fake – it has a ripple effect, on future sales and on reputation. Damaged reputations then lose trust: The study revealed that when a customer had discovered they’d bought a fake online, 22% said their experience had spoiled their perception of the brand, 26% of them stopped buying the brand altogether, and 27% even warned their family and friends against the brand.
While some demographics are more likely to knowingly purchase counterfeit items, particularly in categories like clothing, accessories, and watches; a significant proportion of consumers have unintentionally bought counterfeit goods and that is when decreased brand loyalty starts to become an issue.
Cleaning up the market We noticed the problem at SproutWorld a few years ago, but we’ve turned it around and actually joined forces with some of our imitators, to clean up the market and ensure only genuine products are distributed.
SproutWorld makes the world’s only patented plantable pencils. Once your pencil is used, you pop the stub end into a planter, water and then watch a tree, herb, flower or vegetable grow. Great as corporate and personal gifts, they are hugely popular thanks to the simple and effective way that they can be branded and used to demonstrate a company’s commitment to sustainability.
Sustainability is not just an ethical decision, it’s a sensible business one. Consumers want to make environmentally sound choices. A report from The Roundup last year revealed that 78% of consumers feel that sustainability is important, 62% of
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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