FTC Adopts Changes to Fur Labeling Rules
The Federal Trade Commission is adopting changes to its fur labeling regulations that it says will provide more flexibility, better conform with textile labeling rules, and clarify continuing guaranty requirements. The FTC’s final rule adopts two separate proposed rules issued by the commission in September 2012 and June 2013, respectively. Most of the proposed changes, including revisions to the fur labeling rules’ animal Name Guide, a loosening of restrictions on label content, and a provision on guaranties in electronic format, were adopted wholesale by the FTC. But in a change from its June 2013 proposed rule, the FTC will not require annual renewal of continuing guaranties. The final rule takes effect Nov. 19, 2014.
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The FTC on May 7 voted 4-0 to adopt the final rule, with one commissioner abstaining. The final rule is currently available on the FTC’s website (here), and will be published in the Federal Register “soon.”
Changes to Animal Names; Looser Label Restrictions
FTC’s final rule adopts without change its September 2012 proposal to update its regulations on animal names in fur labeling (see 12091404). The update to the Name Guide in the fur labeling regulations corrects “typographical errors and species misidentification,” for example by changing the scientific name for ocelot from felis pardalis to leopardus pardalis. Despite opposition from some commenters, the FTC again declined to change the name of the “Asiatic raccoon” to “raccoon dog,’ or add the name “Finnracoon” for the same species when farmed in Finland.
The FTC also adopted without change certain amendments to its label requirements. The commission says the changes “provide more labeling flexibility, conform the fur labeling rules to the [Truth in Fur Labeling Act], and eliminate unnecessary provisions.” Specific changes are as follows:
Sides and flanks. The final rule eliminates the requirement that labels disclose fur consisting of “sides” and “flanks.”
Label size. The FTC is eliminating its old requirement that labels measure 1.75 by 2.75 inches, instead requiring that labels be “conspicuous and of such durability as to remain attached to the product throughout any distribution, sale or resale, and until sold and delivered to the ultimate consumer.”
Label text. The FTC’s final rule eliminates certain restrictions on label text to reduce the burden of having to comply with multiple FTC, state and international fur regulations:
- Requires text be displayed “in such a manner as to be clearly legible, conspicuous, and readily accessible to the prospective purchaser” (instead of having to be in 12-point type)
- Allows companies to include information on either side of a label (instead of limiting information that appears on the front of the label.
- Removes a provision that specifies the order in which disclosures have to appear.
Fur items sold in pairs. The FTC will now allow a single label for items “marketed or handled in pairs or ensembles,” regardless of whether they are attached at the point of sale.
Exempted fur products. Pursuant to statutory changes made by the Truth in Fur Labeling Act, the final rule replaces the de minimis exemption currently at 16 CFR 301.39 with an exemption for products “that consist of fur obtained from an animal through trapping or hunting and that are sold in a face-to-face transaction at a place such as a residence, craft fair, or other location used on a temporary or short-term basis, by the person who trapped or hunted the animal, where the revenue from the sale of apparel or fur products is not the primary source of income of such person.”
“Unnecessary regulations”. The final rule also adopts amendments to the fur labeling regulations that eliminate “unnecessary provisions” in order “to simplify the rules.” It deletes sections on (1) suggested methods for determining whether fur has been treated with iron or copper, (2) further guidance on attaching labels, and (3) a requirement that entities assign an item number or mark to furs and disclose it on invoices and labels.
Final Rule Clarifies Use of Electronic Guaranties; Doesn’t Adopt Annual Renewals
The FTC’s final rule also adopts changes first proposed in June 2013 (see 13061827) that aim to harmonize the commission’s fur labeling regulations with its rules on textile labels (see 14031429). The changes clarify that electronically transmitted guarantees are not prohibited and that the guarantor’s printed name and address will satisfy the signature requirement for separate guaranties. It also deletes a requirement that separate guaranties show the date of shipment of merchandise in order to conform with textile guaranty provisions.
However, in a change from its proposed rule, the FTC is not adopting a provision that would have required continuing guaranties to be renewed every year. Comments on this proposed change and on a similar proposal to change the textile regulations “unanimously opposed the requirement as unreasonably burdensome,” said the FTC. However, although it declined to adopt the requirement, the FTC said it “continues to have concerns that continuing guaranties’ reliability may degrade over time,” just as it did in the final textile labeling rule. “If the commission obtains evidence that continuing guaranties have become less reliable after the guaranty amendments take effect, it will revisit this issue,” said the FTC in the final rule.