Interviews

Three Questions with Zachary Toczyński: Sustainable Destruction of Counterfeit Goods

Published: March 25, 2026

Zachary Toczyński (Levi Strauss & Co., USA)

The destruction of counterfeit goods is often treated as a necessary endpoint of brand protection—but what happens next is rarely examined. In many jurisdictions, seized products are destroyed through processes that raise serious environmental and health concerns, leaving brand owners with little visibility or control over the outcome. As sustainability becomes a core business priority, this long‑standing enforcement practice is increasingly being questioned.

Zachary Toczyński, Senior Director, Global Brand Protection (Levi Strauss & Co., USA), is one of the speakers at the 2026 Annual Meeting session, From Seizure to Sustainability: Rethinking Counterfeit Destruction Practices, taking place on May 5, between 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm. This panel will discuss the “dirty business” of counterfeit destruction.

Last year, an INTA Working Group conducted a survey on the sustainable destruction of counterfeit goods that shed light on the growing concerns surrounding counterfeit goods and the sustainability challenges associated with their disposal. The survey found that despite growing environmental concerns, sustainable destruction practices were not widely adopted within the relevant industries, with limited awareness among organisations about sustainable disposal initiatives.

Mr. Toczyński sat down with the INTA Bulletin to explore emerging alternatives to traditional destruction, the legal and practical barriers to scaling them, and the role brands can play—alongside governments and enforcement agencies—in driving more transparent and sustainable solutions.

Strauss & Co. has long emphasized sustainability and responsible sourcing. Have you seen viable alternatives—such as material recovery, recycling, or controlled reuse—successfully adopted for counterfeit clothing, and what barriers most often prevent these approaches from being scaled?
A few pilot initiatives around the world have explored material recovery, recycling, or repurposing of seized counterfeit goods, but these efforts remain limited and fragmented. The primary barriers are legal uncertainty, lack of standardized procedures, and limited infrastructure for safely handling seized products. In many jurisdictions, destruction remains the default approach under law or enforcement practice. Scaling sustainable alternatives will require greater coordination among governments, rights holders, enforcement agencies, and recyclers to establish clear guidelines that protect IP rights while enabling responsible disposal methods.

Brands alone cannot redefine destruction frameworks; governments and enforcement stakeholders must be part of developing solutions.

What role can leading brands play in driving change—whether through advocacy, pilot programs, or collaboration with authorities—to move counterfeit destruction toward more transparent and sustainable practices?
Brands can play an important role by engaging with governments, international organizations, and enforcement partners to explore more sustainable approaches. This includes supporting policy discussions, participating in pilot programs with authorities, and sharing best practices across industries. However, meaningful change will ultimately require public-private collaboration and regulatory clarity. Brands alone cannot redefine destruction frameworks; governments and enforcement stakeholders must be part of developing solutions that balance environmental considerations with the need to ensure counterfeit goods do not re-enter the market.

For your session, what key takeaways do you hope registrants will leave with?
We hope the session sparks a broader conversation about how the brand protection community can rethink traditional destruction practices. There is no single global solution today, and approaches vary widely depending on legal frameworks and enforcement systems. Our goal is to highlight emerging ideas, share examples from different regions, and encourage dialogue among brands, policymakers, and enforcement agencies. Ideally, registrants will leave with new perspectives and a sense that collaboration across stakeholders is essential to developing more sustainable and practical solutions.

2026 Annual Meeting | From Seizure to Sustainability: Rethinking Counterfeit Destruction Practices

Tuesday, May 5, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Presented by the 2026-2027 Anticounterfeiting Committee and Brands and Sustainability Committee

This panel will discuss the “dirty business” of counterfeit destruction. In many jurisdictions, seized counterfeit products are destroyed without regard to the impact on the environment or workers’ health. Many brands are aware of these realities and would welcome alternative processes to ensure utilization of raw materials and destruction processes in line with environmental and health and safety standards. However, local laws and practices are complicated and less than transparent, and brand owners often have no authority to decide what happens to the seized goods. This session will provide an insight into the situation in specific jurisdictions of interest, best practices, alternatives as adopted by some brands, and an outlook for future advocacy to change some of the detrimental practices.

Learn more and register for the 2026 Annual Meeting.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. The opinions expressed in this interview are those of the person being interviewed and do not purport to reflect the views of INTA or its members.