Crate and Barrel Resolves 'Made in USA' Issues With FTC
Crate and Barrel agreed to take steps to correct certain country-of-origin claims it made, the Federal Trade Commission said in a recent closing letter. "During our review, we discussed concerns relating to potentially deceptive 'Made in USA' claims for a set of drinking glasses we identified as containing significant imported content, as well as more general concerns relating to Crate and Barrel’s process for ensuring the accuracy of country-of-origin claims across the Company’s website," the agency said.
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Specifically, the company "removed all U.S.-origin claims from its products, as well as sales and advertising platforms, pending receipt of manufacturer or supplier declarations substantiating such claims," the FTC said. "In the future, the Company has committed to only making U.S.-origin claims if the responsible manufacturer or supplier has signed and submitted appropriate documentation substantiating the claim. Additionally, the Company confirmed it possessed appropriate substantiation for, and acknowledged the need to comply with requirements to disclose, origin on labels and advertising for products covered by the Textile Act and Rules. Finally, in addition to imposing contractual obligations on vendors to update substantiation as circumstances require, the Company committed to prompting vendors to check and re-certify origin claims on a regular basis."
The closing letter "could provide some helpful guidance about what the FTC expects retailers to do when making claims about other companies’ products," Gonzalo Mon, a lawyer with Kelley Drye, said in a blog post. The agency recently increased the penalty amount that could be imposed over improper use of Made in USA claims (see 2107010077).