Visitors to the Black Isle Show on the 5th and 6th August will be assured of getting the Real Deal after The Highland Council and the Black Isle Farmers Society made a commitment to keep them free of fake goods.

Pictured after signing up to the Real Deal charter are L to R – Rod MacKenzie, Secretary and Treasurer of the Black Isle Show Farmers Society; Andrew Cameron Junior Vice President; George MacIver, Vice President; President of the Black Isle Farmers Society Richard MacLennan; Chair of the Council’s Planning, Development & Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Audrey Sinclair and Trading Standards Manager Gordon Robb.

Organisations throughout the UK have signed up to the Real Deal markets’ charter, a nationwide initiative that encourages local authority Trading Standards and market operators to work closely together and share information so that local markets, car boot sales remain free from counterfeit goods and are a safe environment in which to shop and trade. The agreement is the first of its kind in the Highlands and the furthest North for the Real Deal Scheme. Continue reading →

Pictured (left to right): Sharon Penketh, National Trading Standards e-Crime Team; Graham Mogg, Chair of the National Markets Group; Martin Harland and David Hunt of Camden Council Trading Standards.

At the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards conference in Bournemouth last week (Wed 1 July 2015), Leon Livermore, CEO of the CTSI presented the inaugural National Markets Group Awards.

The National Markets Group for IP Protection (NMG), which consists of representatives from industry, enforcement and government, works in partnership to reduce the availability of counterfeit and pirated goods at markets, car boot sales and social media platforms such as Facebook. Continue reading →