Making Made in USA claims? Hang your hat on accuracy.
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 23, 2018 4:15PM
As the saying goes, some people wear their hearts on their sleeve. And many consumers who feel strongly that “American Made Matters” wear their hearts on their head.
Continue Reading Making Made in USA claims? Hang your hat on accuracy.
So You Received a CID: FAQs for Small Businesses
By: Thomas B. Pahl, Acting Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection | Jan 19, 2018 6:34PM
So you’ve received a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) from the Federal Trade Commission related to a consumer protection matter. Now what? We appreciate that it can be daunting for any company – especially a small business – and we want to be as transparent as possible about the process.
Continue Reading So You Received a CID: FAQs for Small Businesses
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 6, 2017 10:21AM
When it comes to using online negative options to sell unmentionables (or anything else), there are some material terms and conditions that marketers need to clearly mention. That’s the brief but foundational lesson of the FTC’s $1.3 million settlement with online lingerie seller AdoreMe.
A clothes look at the RN database: Q&A with FTC staff
By: Lesley Fair | Oct 5, 2017 11:18AM
It’s not much bigger than a postage stamp, but the label on many textile, wool, and fur products provides important information, including fiber content, country of origin, and a company name or Registered Identification Number (RN). The FTC administers the RN system and industry members will want to check out recent upgrades to the RN website.
Continue Reading A clothes look at the RN database: Q&A with FTC staff
LeaRN about the modeRNized RN database
By: Lesley Fair | Sep 20, 2017 11:27AM
During red carpet season, runway commentators invariably ask the question, “Who are you wearing?” Just once we’d like to see a celebrity look at the label, take out their smartphone, and run the information through the FTC’s Registered Identification Number (RN) database. As part of its regulatory reform initiative, the FTC has announced upgrades to rn.ftc.gov that make the system even easier to use.
Bureau of Consumer Protection process reforms announced
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 17, 2017 2:01PM
Our job at the Bureau of Consumer Protection is to protect consumers by enforcing the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive and unfair practices. It’s important that we carry out that mission effectively and efficiently.
Continue Reading Bureau of Consumer Protection process reforms announced
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 23, 2017 10:48AM
TVs, textiles, appliances, and spam. That may sound like an eclectic shopping list at a big box retailer, but they’re clues to an FTC development you and your clients should know about.
They’re all categories affected by four rules the FTC is putting under the regulatory microscope: the Picture Tube Rule, the Textile Rules, the Energy Labeling Rule, and the CAN-SPAM Rule.
New FTC website helps small businesses
By: Tom Pahl, Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection | May 9, 2017 11:24AM
When scammers and hackers attack small businesses, it hurts not only the businesses’ reputations and bottom line, but also the integrity of the marketplace. Today, FTC Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen announced a new FTC website, FTC.gov/SmallBusiness, to help business owners avoid scams, protect their computers and networks, and keep their customers’ and employees’ data safe.
Civil penalties undergo inflation recalculation
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 29, 2016 12:17PM
If you’d like details about how the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act was amended to recalculate penalties using a formula based on the percentage by which the Department of Labor’s October 2015 Consumer Price Index exceeds the Index for October in the year in which the penalty was enacted or last adjusted by law, the FTC has issued a Federal Register Notice explaining it.
Continue Reading Civil penalties undergo inflation recalculation
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 21, 2016 12:14PM
Spoiler alert: If the villains in a thriller appear to be vanquished with 20 minutes left in the movie, you can bet they’ll make a dramatic reappearance. A case filed by the FTC targets a B2B tactic that small businesses started seeing years ago, but – to quote Poltergeist II – “They’re ba-ack.” And the defendants in the sequel have added what the FTC says is a bogus imposter angle.
FTC’s Lord & Taylor case: In native advertising, clear disclosure is always in style
By: Lesley Fair | Mar 15, 2016 8:37AM
It’s a fetching frock with spaghetti straps, an engineered paisley print, and an asymmetrical hemline.
Clothes by any other name: FTC challenges retailers’ “bamboo” claims
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 9, 2015 11:16AM
Maybe “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but deceptively describing rayon clothing as bamboo isn’t so sweet – and violates the FTC’s Textile Rules. In addition to civil penalties totaling $1.3 million, settlements with Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney Company, and Backcountry.com suggest another important point for industry members: Don’t ignore warnings about deceptive ads and misleading labels.
Continue Reading Clothes by any other name: FTC challenges retailers’ “bamboo” claims
Elemental lessons from FTC’s Tommie Copper case
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 1, 2015 10:02AM
On the Periodic Table of Elements, copper is designated as CU. The FTC’s lawsuit against Tommie Copper, Inc., the seller of copper-infused compression wear, suggests it may be time to conduct a periodic check of the elements in your ads to C that U have proof to back up your claims.
Continue Reading Elemental lessons from FTC’s Tommie Copper case
Made in USA claims: Three cheers for the said right and true
By: Julia Solomon Ensor and Lesley Fair | Nov 2, 2015 10:11AM
Two products sit side by side on the store shelf, but only one says “Made in USA.” For many consumers, that’s an important consideration in deciding what to buy. That’s why the FTC wants to make sure companies’ Made in USA claims – like all objective product representations – are true and backed by appropriate evidence. We asked FTC attorney Julia Ensor some of the questions we’ve heard from businesses about Made in USA claims.
Does my company have to disclose U.S. content on products we sell in the United States?
Continue Reading Made in USA claims: Three cheers for the said right and true
Members of the fur industry: Today’s the day
By: Robert Frisby | Nov 19, 2014 3:37PM
If you manufacture, import or sell garments containing fur, November 19th should be circled on your calendar. That’s because today’s the day amendments to the FTC’s Fur Rule take effect. Looking for help with compliance? The FTC has published How to Comply with the Fur Products Labeling Act, updated guidance on keeping your practices within the law.
Continue Reading Members of the fur industry: Today’s the day
FTC Milestones: Shared beginnings in the Circle Cilk case
By: Lesley Fair | Nov 6, 2014 2:26PM
In celebration of the FTC’s 100th anniversary, we’ve been examining the leaves on our family tree. The FTC’s founding is often associated with turn-of-the-century trust busting, but a closer look – including a study of the very first case published in Volume 1 of Federal Trade Commission Decisions – proves that the intertwined roots of consumer protection and competition run deep. That’s one of the themes of the FTC@100 Symposium on Friday, November 7, 2014.
Continue Reading FTC Milestones: Shared beginnings in the Circle Cilk case
Shape up your shapewear claims
By: Lesley Fair | Sep 29, 2014 12:07PM
We can’t vouch for the accuracy of Shakira’s representation that “Hips Don’t Lie.” But the FTC says anti-cellulite and slimming claims for caffeine-embedded underwear sold by lingerie company Wacoal and catalog retailer Norm Thompson were deceptive. As for Norm Thompson's statement that Dr. Oz endorsed its products, the complaint challenges that as false.
Has your company taken this selfie lately?
By: Lesley Fair | May 9, 2014 12:39PM
The company name may be American Apparel, but commerce is global, especially in the fashion industry. If a business says it abides by the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor for transferring consumer data, companies have an obligation to live up to that promise. American Apparel, the popular clothing retailer, is the latest company to be the subject of FTC law enforcement for claiming it was in compliance with the framework, but failing to conduct the required annual self-cer
By: Robert Frisby | May 5, 2014 4:58PM
If your business involves textiles, you’re familiar with the requirements of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the FTC’s accompanying Rules. But are you in the loop on changes that take effect today – May 5, 2014 – that could give you more flexibility with compliance? In addition to reviewing the revised Rules, you’ll want to read the FTC’s updated publication, Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts, to
By: Lesley Fair | Feb 12, 2014 4:07PM
Usually when someone says “keep it under your hat,” they’re asking you to keep information confidential. But when the FTC staff says “keep it under your hat” – and the hat in question is made of wool – we mean the exact opposite. To us, it’s a reminder to marketers that hats containing wool must have labels that clearly disclose what the product is made of.
