I recently read an article about the UK banning the sale of fake designer furniture.  The author of the article made the point that Australians often don't know the difference between furniture that has been designed and designer knock-offs. The result is a proliferation of furniture stores selling knock-offs at a fraction of the price of the real thing and, after the UK's stand, Australia leaves itself open to be a dumping ground of poor quality, "designer look" furniture. 

Designers are creatures of intrinsic value. The role of any designer is to make improvements that add value to an object, whether it be a watch, car component or a garden.  The added value is often not directly attributed to dollars, but can only be measured in more subtle ways, like performance, durability, usability, sustainability and, the most subtle of all, liveability.