Louis Vuitton (LV) recently unveiled its latest efforts to help stop piracy in the Philippines. Aside from aiding local authorities in the identification of sellers of fake goods, its local subsidiary, LV Philippines, announced it was donating more than $100,000 to a foster-care organization to help cut counterfeiting from its source in the dysfunctional family.

LV said it was joining with SOS Children’s Villages (SOSCV) to reinforce education in selected locales where children often have no choice but to work. This initiative, which is part of a five-year partnership with SOSCV, falls within the framework of the support given by LV since 2010.

This stems from a paradigmatic analysis that piracy is only one symptom of a bigger social malaise—the problem of poor social management of the nuclear family. “A lot of the counterfeiting we see is produced by criminal organizations that use illegal child labor to procure raw materials,” said Jean-Baptiste Debains, president of LV Asia Pacific. “If we keep these children away from crime and if we help educate them and their mothers, we not only protect ourselves, but we also contribute back to society.”

A bigger social malaise

LAUNCHING its latest salvo in corporate social responsibility, the premier luxury brand announced that this initiative is part of a bigger regional effort. In 2010 Louis Vuitton and SOSCV, one of the world’s largest nongovernmental organizations dedicated to helping children, signed a five-year global agreement to develop a locally implemented program titled “Partnership for Children’s Futures.” Its aim is the provision of “security, education and learning” to disadvantaged children.

“Through our relationship with SOS Children’s Villages, we seek to support children in their education and creative development,” said Yves Carcelle, chairman and CEO of LV International, in a press statement. “Preserving our past and preparing the new generations for a better future is one of the founding values which have inspired the Maison Louis Vuitton for over 150 years. We believe that education is the key to helping children get out of difficult situations, and today we take this partnership a step forward by reinforcing education in countries where it is needed.”

Thus, LV’s Intellectual Property Department has decided to make donations to various educational programs in China, the Philippines, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic. An approximate $500,000 will be divided among projects selected together with SOSCV units in each country, with the aim to improve and increase access to education among the young.

For Davao, Lipa and Tacloban

FOR the Philippines, LV has decided to support the SOS Family Strengthening Programs in Davao, Lipa and Tacloban. “The Family Strengthening programs aim to support families at risk of abandoning their children due to extreme poverty, and place a strong focus on preventing children from working,” said Bienvenido Delgado, SOSCV director for the Philippines. “LV’s donation of more than $100,000 will go a long way.”

Added Richard Pichler, secretary-general of SOSCV International: “Child labor is an international issue that contradicts the values we share with LV, that of a safe, educational and loving environment where children can grow. We hope that this initiative will help children to learn and develop into adults who have the skills to be independent and be responsible for themselves in society.”

Rhea de Vera-Aguirre, country manager of LV Philippines, concluded: “Many children do not have the choice but to work to gain a living, and therefore do not have the time or energy to go to school. LV and SOSCV have established this initiative to improve their lot, allowing a maximum number of children to access a brighter future. This is one of LV’s ways of giving back to society.”