"genuine faux leather..."

CHOOSING AND USING CELEBRITIES WISELY (Megan-Rowling)
LONDON (AlertNet) - These days, newspapers and magazines are littered with famous faces and celebrity-penned articles promoting charitable causes.  Celebrities seem to be tripping over themselves to put their names to charities and fulfil their inner humanitarian urges.
Yet, according to British public relations guru Max Clifford, the image of concerned celebs using their fame and wealth to help others less fortunate than themselves is somewhat misleading.
At a recent conference on charity communications in London, he argued that many stars are self-obsessed and only interested in doing charity work that will boost their public profile and careers.
"In a lot of cases, they have to be bullied, persuaded, and in my case blackmailed into doing charity stuff!" he joked.
Nonetheless, he said using celebrities was one of the best ways for charities to gain publicity for their cause. The trick is to ensure that the relationship is mutually beneficial.
It's also important to minimise the possibility that scandal or other negative publicity surrounding the star will tarnish the reputation of the charity or its work.

faux fō
adjective [ attrib. ]
artificial or imitation; false : a string of faux pearls.

genuine ˈjenyoōin
adjective
truly what something is said to be; authentic
(of a person, emotion, or action) sincere

knockoff ˈnäkˌôf (also knock-off)
noun informal
a copy or imitation, esp. of an expensive or designer product : [as adj. ] knockoff merchandise

I was in a sportswear outlet store the other day. And as I usually do, I gravitated toward the “accessories” section of the store. Socks, watches, belts, caps, water bottles with name-brand logos, purses…

I love looking through this section of outlet stores. They are so fun…and almost everything fits!

I was checking out the purses on the little silver hooks, when I came upon one particular bag that looked like my style. Simple. Natural-looking. Leathery. Zipper closure. Long strap. The tag on the purse boasted “GENUINE FAUX LEATHER.”

What the heck is genuine faux leather? Can something be genuine….AND faux? I have given this a lot of thought. And just today, I ran across something else that I think might wear the tag “GENUINE FAUX:”

From Celebrities and Charities: A Cautionary Tale

"To be honest, I've just about had enough of celebrities and their charity antics these past couple of weeks. I don't want to read another column about Madonna and her adoption saga. I don't want to see any more pictures of stars touring refugee camps or orphanages.

Why? Because it seems that, more often that not, it's the celebrities who become the story rather than those meant to benefit from their glitzy presence.

One consequence of the growing celebrity/charity entanglement may be that the public becomes more sceptical of media coverage pegged to fame and fortune.

Celebrity and charity have long been bedfellows but never more so; the increasingly relevant and awkward question is whether they make a comfortable partnership."

Hmm...will the REAL THING please stand up?!