Maple Manufacturing Co.

Text (OCR of the scan at left; may contain errors)

IN THE MATTER OF MAPLE MANUFACTURING CO. ET AL.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC. , IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, THE WOOL PRODUCTS LABELING AND THE TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTS IDENTIFICATION ACTS Docket C-1268. Complaint, Nov. 20, 1967-Decision, Nov. 20, 1.967 Consent order requiring a Philadelphia, Pa., manufacturer of athletic uniforms and jackets to cease misbranding its wool products and falsely advertising its textile products.

COMPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Aet, the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Acts, the Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that Maple Manufacturing Co., a corporation, and Martin Surkin and Natalie Surkin, individually and as offcers of said corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondents, have violated the provisions of said Acts and the Rules and Regulations promulgated under the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent Maple Manufacturing Co. is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Individual respondents Martin Surkin and Katalie Surkin are offcers of the corporate respondent. They formulate, direct and control the acts, practices and policies of said corporation, including the acts and practices hereinafter referred to. The proposed respondents are engaged in the manufacturing of wool and textile athletic uniforms and jackets, with their offce and principal place of business located at 1238 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

840 FEDERAL TRADE COM MISSION DECISIOKS Complaint 72 F.

PAR. 2. Respondents now, and for some time last past, have manufactured for introduction into commerce, introduced into commerce, sold, transported, distributed, delivered for shipment shipped and offered for sale, in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, wool products as wool product" is defined therein.

PAR. 3. Certain of said wool products were misbranded by the respondents within the intent and meaning of Section 4 (a) (1) of the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, in that they were falsely and decephvely stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified with respect to the character and amount of the constituent fibers contained therein.

Among such misbranded wool products, but not limited thereto, were fabrics stamped, tagged, labeled or otherwise identified as containing all wool whereas in truth and in fact, such fabrics contained substantially different fibers and amounts of fibers than represented.

PAR. 4. Certain of said wool products were further misbranded by respondents in that they were not stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified as required under the provisions of Section 4(a) (2) of the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and in the manner and form as prescribed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated under said Act.

Among such misbranded wool products, but not limited thereto were certain wool products namely fabrics with labels on or affxed thereto, which failed to disclose the percentage of the total fiber weight of the wool products, exclusive of ornamentation not exceeding 5 per centum of said total fiber weight, of (1) wool; (2) reprocessed wool; (3) reused wool; (4) each fiber other than wool when said percentage by weight of such fiber was 5 per centum or more; and (5) the aggregate of all other fibers. PAR. 5. The acts and practices of the respondents as set forth above were, and are, in violation of the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and constituted, and now constitute, unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts and practices, in commerce, within the intent and meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

PAR. 6. Respondents are now, and for some time last past have been, engaged in the introduction, delivery for introduction, manufacture for introduction, sale, advertising, and offering for sale, in commerce, and in the transportation or causing to be MAPLE MANUFACTURING CO. ET AL. 841 839 Complaint transported in commerce, and in the importation into the United States, of textie fiber products; and have sold, offered for sale advertised, delivered, transported and caused to be transported textile fiber products, which have been advertised or offered for sale in commerce; and have sold, offered for sale, advertised delivered, transported and caused to be transported, after shipment in commerce, textile fiber products, either in their original state or contained in other textile fiber products; as the terms commerce" and "textile fiber product" are defined in the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act.

PAR. 7. Certain of said textile fiber products were falsely and deceptively advertised in that respondent in making disclosures or implications as to the fiber content of such textile fiber products in written advertisements used to aid, promote, and assist, directly or indirectly, in the sale or offering for sale of said products, failed to set forth the required information as to fiber content as specified by Section 4 (c) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and in the manner and form prescribed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated under said Act.

Among such textile fiber products, but not limited thereto, were textie products which were falsely and deceptively advertised by means of a catalogue distributed by respondents throughout the United States in that the said textile products were advertised by means of fiber implying terms such as "flannel poplin " and corduroy, " without disclosing the generic name of the fibers contained in the garment.

PAR. 8. By means of the aforesaid advertisements and others of similar import and meaning not specifically referred to herein, respondents falsely and deceptively advertised textie fiber products in violation of the Textie Fiber Products Identification Act in that said textie fiber products were not advertised in accordance with the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder in that required information was set forth in the aforesaid advertisements in abbreviated form.

PAR. 9. The acts and practices of the respondents as set forth above in Paragraphs Seven and Eight were, and are, in violation of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and constituted, and now constitute unfair methods of competition ancl unfair and deceptive acts or practices, in commerce, under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Decision and Order 72 F.

DECISION AKD ORDER The Federal Trade Commission having initiated an investigation of certain acts and practices of the respondents named in the caption hereof, and the respondents having been furnished thereafter with a copy of a draft of complaint which the Bureau of Texties and Furs proposed to present to the Commission for its consideration and which, if issued by the Commission, would charge respondents with violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and the Textie Fiber Products Identification Act; and The respondents and counsel for the Commission having thereafter executed an agreement containing a consent order, an admission by the respondents of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the aforesaid draft of complaint, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by respondents that the law has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and other provisions as required by the Commission s Rules; and The Commission having thereafter considered the matter and having determined that it had reason to believe that the respondents have violated the said Acts, and that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, and having thereupon accepted the executed consent agreement and placed such agreement on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days, now in further 34 (b) of itsconformity with the procedure prescribed in S 2. Rules, the Commission hereby issues its complaint, makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order: 1. Respondent Maple Manufacturing Co. is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with its offce and principal place of business located at 1238 CaJlowhil Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Respondents Martin Surkin and Natalie Surkin are offcers of said corporation and their address is the same as that of said corporation.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the su ject matter of this proceeding and of the respondents, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

ORDER It is orde?' That respondents Maplc Manufacturing Co., a offcers. and Martin Sur kin and Katalie corporation, and its Surkin, individually and as offcers of said corporation, and re- MAPLE MAKUFACTURING CO. ET AL. 843 839 Decision and Order spondents' representatives, agents and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the introduction, or manufacture for introduction, into commerce or the offering for sale, sale, transportation, distribution, delivery for shipment or shipment, in commerce, of wool products, as commerce" and "wool product" are defined in the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, do forthwith cease and desist from misbranding such products by:

1. Falsely or deceptively stamping, tagging, labeling, or otherwise identifying such products as to the character or amount of constituent fibers contained therein. 2. Failing to securely affx to, or place on, each such product a stamp, tag, label, or other means of identification showing in a clear and conspicuous manner each element of information required to be disclosed by Section 4 (a) (2) of the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939.

It is further ordered That respondents Maple Manufacturing Co. , a corporation, and its offcers, and Martin Surkin and :"atalie Surkin, individually and as offcers of said corporation, and respondents' representatives, agents and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the introduction, delivery for introduction, manufacture for introduction, sale, advertising, or offering for sale, in commerce, or the transportation or causing to be transported in commerce, or in the importation into the United States, of any textile fiber product; or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, advertising, delivery, transportation, or causing to be transported, of any tcxtile fiber product which has been advertised or offered for sale in commerce; or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, advertising, delivery, transportation, or causing to be transported, after shipment in commerce, of any textile fiber product, whether in its original state or contained in other textie fiber products, as the terms "commerce" and "textile fiber product" are defined in the Textie Fiber Products Identification Act, do forthwith cease and desist from falsely and deceptively advertising textie fiber products by:

1. Making any representations by disclosure or by implication, as to the fiber content of any textile fiber product in any written advertisement which is used to aid, promote or assist, directly or indirectly, in the sale or offering for sale of such textile fiber product, unless the same information required to be shown on the stamp, tag, label or other means /).

Complaint 72 F. T.

of identification under Section 4 (b) (1) and (2) of the Textie Fiber Products Identification Act is contained in the said advertisement, except that the percentages of the fibers present in the textile fiber product need not be stated. 2. Setting forth information required under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder in abbreviated form. It is fUTtheT ordei' That the respondents herein shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which they have complied with this order.