PIRATES making fake copies of Cashtime Life’s merchandise are crushing the famous record label’s profits.
Cashtime Life, which has major stars like K.O, KidX, MaE and Maggz, are gatvol of the fong kong duplicates of their signature clothing flooding Mzansi.
Co-founder Thabiso Khati told Daily Sun: “It’s really sad that we’re a proudly South African small business creating employment for the black youth and then this happens.
“To have these bullies bastardising our brand like this is sickening, to say the least.”
Thabiso is urging government to work on better policies and structures to help protect small businesses like theirs from such tsotsis.
Even their devoted fans are being fooled. Last week, fan Moses Rini tweeted K.O to show his love wearing a Cashtime Life cap.
Skhanda Republic king K.O (real name Ntokozo Mdluli) tweeted back: “But bro, that’s a fake cap tho.”
They first learned of the fakes last year and since then their revenue has taken a dive.
Asked how people can tell fakes from the real thing, K.O said: “Our range is limited to T-shirts and tracksuits. We only use a special fabric, whereas the fakes are made of cotton and other fabrics.
“Our tracksuits’ animal print designs were specially developed by us – the pirates have not been able to copy the design. They just plaster the Cashtime Life logo on wool or cotton tracksuits.”
He said the original clothes are only available from Shesha and Fashion Kraal stores, and Raw Addiction at the Plaza in Benoni.
