Blog Posts Tagged with Clothing and Textiles

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.

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

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.

If you or your clients make environmental marketing claims, don’t sleep on three actions the FTC just announced against companies that sell mattresses.  What's more, the pleadings in one case offer insights into a course of conduct advertisers should avoid in the use of seals and certifications.

Most people are familiar with labels in clothing and other textile products that name the fabric and explain how to clean it.  But look a little closer and you may spot the prefix RN followed by a series of digits.  If you’re in the textile business, those are important numbers to know.

In some ways, think of it as “faux faux fur.”  No, that’s not a typo.  It’s what results when national retailers advertise items of apparel as fake fur, when in fact, they contain, well, fur.  Those are just some of the allegations in recent FTC complaints against The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., DrJays.com, Inc., and Eminent, Inc. (which shoppers may know as Revolve Clothing).