Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: FTC extends deadline for comments on wool labeling rules, (Nov 25, 2013)

By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LL.M.

The FTC today announced the extension of the deadline for comments on proposed revisions to its Wool Products Labeling Rules from November 25, 2013, to December 3, 2013.

The FTC postponed the deadline to accommodate a request from the Embassy of Australia on behalf of the Federation of Australian Wool Organizations (FAWO). The FAWO indicated that it would be attending a meeting of the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO), which represents the interests of wool industry stakeholders at an international level, in Guangzhou, China, on November 25-26. The FTC agreed with the FAWO that its record would benefit from comments informed by deliberations at the meeting, and the extension of the deadline would not substantially delay the rulemaking process.

The Wool Products Labeling Rules require labels on wool products to disclose the manufacturer’s or marketer’s name, the country where the product was processed or manufactured, and information about the fiber content. The FTC has proposed changes to the Rules to make them more flexible and to align them with its proposed amendments to its Textile Rules. The proposed changes include incorporating the Wool Act’s new definitions for cashmere and very fine wools, clarifying descriptions of products containing virgin or new wool, and revising the Rules to allow certain hang-tags disclosing fiber trademarks and performance even if they do not disclose the product’s full fiber content.

The FTC first issued the Rules under the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, known as the Wool Act. The agency completed its last review of the Rules in 1998 and modified the Rules in 1998 and 2000. In 2006, Congress amended the Wool Act with the Wool Suit Fabric Labeling Fairness and International Standards Conforming Act, which provides that wool products identified as cashmere, or as containing very fine wools, are misbranded unless they have no more than the average fiber diameter specified in the Act.

Interested parties may file comments on paper by writing “Wool Rules, 16 CFR Part 300, Project No. P124201” on the comment, and mailing or delivering it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex Q), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580. Comments may also be filed online here by following the instructions on the web-based form. All comments received will be posted here (FTC File No. P124201).

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews