Teen Consumer Education Program LifeSmarts Partners with 'Be Safe Buy Real' Campaign

Poster contest challenges students to demonstrate their knowledge about counterfeit goods.

The National Consumers League’s LifeSmarts program is partnering with Underwriters Laboratories on its Be Safe Buy Real campaign to give students and educators a deeper understanding of the global issue of counterfeit goods and its impact on individuals, communities, and economies.

LifeSmarts is an educational program that engages middle and high school students in real-world learning and prepares them for adult life beyond the classroom. For nearly 30 years, LifeSmarts has provided free, innovative curriculum focusing on personal finances, consumer rights, technology, the environment, and health and safety.

This year, LifeSmarts is integrating Underwriters Laboratories’ anti-counterfeiting content into its consumer rights and responsibilities-focused content. LifeSmarts invites all student participants to learn about counterfeit goods and create and share informational posters to communicate their knowledge of fake products.

LifeSmarts students in grades 6-12 are encouraged to learn more about the poster contest and submit entries by March 15, 2022.

Read the full rules
Review the rubric
Upload posters and complete the contest form

Underwriters Laboratories provided an educational grant to LifeSmarts to support the project and reward individual students and teams who do an exceptional job with their anti-counterfeiting messages and outreach. Individual students have the opportunity to win prizes, and high school teams are eligible to win travel stipends to attend the National LifeSmarts Championship held in Washington D.C. from April 21-24, 2022.

“We are thrilled to partner with Underwriters Laboratories on this effort and to help young consumers understand the risks and consequences of purchasing counterfeit goods,” said National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We can’t wait to see what creative approaches they bring to the competition.”

“Educating young consumers is key to injury prevention. Underwriters Laboratories is delighted to partner with LifeSmarts to encourage a deeper understanding of the negative health and safety risks associated with the use of counterfeit products. We are looking forward to seeing many new and creative perspectives!” said Monica Mena, director of Education and Outreach, Underwriters Laboratories

LifeSmarts provides free educational resources for educators and teens, develops student leaders through competition and community service, and rewards students for high achievement with scholarships and other prizes. Through its partnerships and programs, LifeSmarts lessons reach more than 125,000 teens each year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each school year, thousands of LifeSmarts teams compete, first locally and then nationally, for the opportunity to be crowned the National LifeSmarts Champion of the year.