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FTC charges companies with 'Bamboo-zling' consumers with false product claims
13 Aug '09
5 min read
The rayon manufacturing process uses toxic chemicals and results in the emission of hazardous air pollutants. And, despite the claims of Pure Bamboo and Bamboosa, the Commission charges that these rayon products are not biodegradable because they will not break down in a reasonably short time after customary disposal. Most clothing and textiles are disposed of either by recycling or sending to a landfill. Neither method results in quick biodegradation.
The complaints also charge these four companies with violating the Textile Act and Rules by, among other things, falsely and deceptively labeling and advertising their clothing and textile products as bamboo, when they should be labeled and advertised as rayon. The FTC also charges three of the companies – Jonäno, Mad Mod, and Pure Bamboo – with violating the Textile Act and Rules by advertising or labeling their products without disclosing where the products were manufactured.
Jonäno, Mad Mod, and Pure Bamboo have agreed to settlements that will ensure they use the proper names to label and advertise the fibers in their products and do not violate the Textile Act and Rules in the future.
The settlements bar these companies from claiming that any textile product: is made of bamboo or bamboo fiber; is manufactured using an environmentally friendly process; or is antimicrobial or retains the anti-microbial properties of the product from which it is made, unless the claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.
Pure Bamboo is further barred from claiming its products are biodegradable, unless the claim is true, not misleading, and substantiated by reliable and competent scientific evidence. The settlements also bar the three companies from making any claims about the benefits, performance, or efficacy of any clothing or textile product they sell, unless the claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable evidence.
The proposed orders do allow the companies to describe their products as “rayon made from bamboo,” as long as this is true and can be substantiated.
The Commission's administrative complaint against The M Group, Inc., d/b/a Bamboosa, and its principals was issued on August 7, 2009.
The complaints also charge these four companies with violating the Textile Act and Rules by, among other things, falsely and deceptively labeling and advertising their clothing and textile products as bamboo, when they should be labeled and advertised as rayon. The FTC also charges three of the companies – Jonäno, Mad Mod, and Pure Bamboo – with violating the Textile Act and Rules by advertising or labeling their products without disclosing where the products were manufactured.
Jonäno, Mad Mod, and Pure Bamboo have agreed to settlements that will ensure they use the proper names to label and advertise the fibers in their products and do not violate the Textile Act and Rules in the future.
The settlements bar these companies from claiming that any textile product: is made of bamboo or bamboo fiber; is manufactured using an environmentally friendly process; or is antimicrobial or retains the anti-microbial properties of the product from which it is made, unless the claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.
Pure Bamboo is further barred from claiming its products are biodegradable, unless the claim is true, not misleading, and substantiated by reliable and competent scientific evidence. The settlements also bar the three companies from making any claims about the benefits, performance, or efficacy of any clothing or textile product they sell, unless the claims are true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable evidence.
The proposed orders do allow the companies to describe their products as “rayon made from bamboo,” as long as this is true and can be substantiated.
The Commission's administrative complaint against The M Group, Inc., d/b/a Bamboosa, and its principals was issued on August 7, 2009.
Federal Trade Commission
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