Online Resources for Fashion Compliance and Fashion Law

Are you looking for more fashion law information related to your fashion compliance obligations?

Here is a list of resources to help you learn more about what’s required for you to do the right thing and avoid getting hit by penalties for wrongdoing. We have many other articles in our blog that we invite you to peruse through as well.

Be advised that while we are providing this information and it may be considered guidance, we are not guaranteeing that any of the rules, regulations or protocols stated in these publications and resources are current (in fact portions of it are outdated as you will see since these laws frequently are amended, but it is what the government has published and is therefore, publicly available), still applicable, or should be considered as legal advice.

It is always recommended to have legal counsel review anything you have put together to ensure you are actually complying with the law. 

MARKETING CLAIMS

Are you telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to your product descriptions made in advertisements, whether in print or online?  Perhaps, you’re stretching the truth???

Whatever the case may be, be advised that truthful marketing statements and non-deceptive advertising are highly regulated areas.  To learn more about what you can and can’t do, check out these links here:

Dot Com Disclosures: How to MakeEffective Disclosures in Digital Advertising

Advertising and Marketing on theInternet:  Rules of the Road

GREEN MARKETING (“ECO-FRIENDLY”)

Part of the sustainable fashion movement?  Are your products “Eco-friendly?”  If they are, kudos to you!  We are absolutely for the advancement of products that could be considered “sustainable fashion.”

As a warning, however, the government has strict rules on what can be claimed as “green” and even requires proof to substantiate any claims made.  Watch the video on their website and find more information on this at this link here:

Green Guides: Guides for the Use of Environmental MarketingClaims

MADE IN USA

We make excellent products here in the U.S.  and if you want to have the privilege of labeling your products with the statement “Made in USA,” you better darn well make sure that it was all or virtually made here in the USA.   While this may sound relatively straightforward, this can get complicated when some components have been imported despite the manufacture of the final product being fabricated here in the US.  It’s complexity further rises when a company wants it’s goods to qualify under the Buy American Act or to sell to the government, which has its own criteria regarding products claiming to be Made in USA.

For more on Made in USA disclosures, check out this page here.

CLOTHING LABELS

Believe it or not, figuring out the proper way to state required disclosures on clothing can get complicated fast when what you are selling is either imported in to the USA, made in the USA but of foreign components, or made up of US originating components that are assembled into a finished product abroad.  This is because there are overlapping laws that apply to clothes under these circumstances.

It becomes further complicated if you are using recycled materials, unknown fibers or miscellaneous scraps.  Since there is so much misinformation out there on this subject, we invite you to contact us with any questions related to this subject.

IMPORTING

To put it mildly, importing laws are a beast unto themselves.  Nuances from fiber blends, to articles sold as sets, to importing second hand clothes all raise specific issues in relation to product classification, labeling, how it is marked and its value determination.

US Customs Informed Compliance Publications cover a wealth of subjects from apparel classification, to fiber trade names, to importing basics.  They all give you a head start on how to do the right thing in terms of importing in to the US.

For these subjects, how to take advantage of money saving opportunities through the trade agreements, and more, check out this link.

EXPORTING / E-COMMERCE

“This is not your parent’s post office.”  -- Anonymous, USPS Corporate Office Employee

Don’t be fooled by what the U.S. Postal Service used to be, it currently provides the market’s share of shipping for e-commerce, and has been steadily expanding its reach to new corners of the globe to better serve you the merchant.  Have a look at its international services through the link here.

TESTING

Many tests required under the apparel laws must be done by a test laboratory certified by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.   While approved by a US agency, they labs may nonetheless be outside of the US.  To search for a lab near you, check out this link here:

DESIGN ISSUES

It's not uncommon that designers are concerned about the possibility of others taking their creative ideas and profiting from their intellectual property.  Learn more about protecting yourself through trademark, patent and copyright protection at the US Patent and Trademark Office. 

LAW SCHOOLS WITH A FASHION LAW TWIST

The following is a list of law schools that have either a Fashion Law course, have hosted a “Fashion Symposium,” or have a “Fashion Club” on campus.

• New York Law School
• Loyola Law School
• Fordham Law School
• Southwestern Law School
• University of Virginia School of Law
• Cardozo Law School
• New York University
• New England Law
• The John Marshall Law School
• Brooklyn Law School
• Hastings Law School
• Charlotte School of Law
• St. John’s University School of Law
• Touro Law School
• Howard University School of Law
• University of Southern California

Have questions or comments on fashion compliance and/or fashion law? Feel free to connect with us!

Learn more at www.fashioncompliance.com or

Tweet us @fashcompliance on Twitter or

Email us at clark.deanna@gmail.com

Labeling Products as Being Made or Assembled in the USA

Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Customs have distinct rules governing country of origin marking and qualifying claims of US origin.

The FTC’s focus is with regards to the labeling and advertising of products making claims of US origin.  This is because the FTC is charged with preventing deception and unfairness in the marketplace.  It therefore has the power to bring law enforcement actions against false or misleading claims that a product is of U.S. origin.  Naturally, where a product is being imported and it’s labeled “Made in USA,” it is likely going to raise some eyebrows without further explanation.

Traditionally, the FTC has required that a product labeled or advertised as Made in USA be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.  While this is not clearly defined, the thrust of this rule is that the product itself is comprised of components that are of US origin, or virtually all of US origin.

US Customs interest in marking however, has to do with consumer preferences.  According to the case, United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302 (1940), the intention behind the marking law (19 U.S.C. 1304) was "that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product.  The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will."

US Customs, on the other hand, does not require any marking of Made in the USA when a product is of US origin.  Where this issue typically arises however, is in the case of an article whose components are of US origin but for which the final product is “assembled” in another country.

Customs has held that where the word “assembled” is used in conjunction with the origin statement to supply additional information, it has been found acceptable provided the additional information about where the watch was assembled was (1) not false or misleading, (2) appeared in close proximity to, and (3) was in a comparable font size to, the country of origin marking.

One point to note is that the FTCs rules tend to be more prohibitive than that of US Customs, so when in doubt, consult with the agency itself, such as at the FTC webpage entitled “Complying With the Made in USA Standard” http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus03-complying-made-usa-standard or your attorney.

Questions/comments?  Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com

Toxic Purses II – A Response to Those Who Have Written to Me With Questions

First of all, I would like to say, hello! Many of you have written making reference to a particular designer’s handbag/luggage products, and I have to admit that I not only share your interest in her designs but that she is actually my favorite designer.

That being said, I am pleased to report that these same warning labels have not been on my apparel purchases because they were not applicable to apparel. I mention this because I want you to understand that labels about products are specific to that type of article and are not necessarily a reflection across all product lines of a brand.

A warning label on a product also does not mean that all types of that product pose some “risk” and in the case of handbags, that will largely not be the situation. In terms of whether or not you want to keep or return your bag, that is an individual question that I cannot answer for you. After all, if the warning label is going to cause you to worry about an impending illness – whether or not it is true that one would result – then you probably don’t want to be preoccupied about something when you could just return it to the store.

On the other hand, when you know more about why the bag was subject to the label in the first place and factor in the frequency of your usage of the bag, you may not be worried about keeping it at all.

As I mentioned in my Toxic Purses? article, the label is a result of a law out of the State of California (CA) called Proposition 65.

California’s Prop 65 in its simplest terms requires a label where a product contains a chemical compound that exceeds what CA calls the “Safe Harbor Level.” Safe Harbor determinations are based on a person’s exposure to a chemical, assuming daily exposure at that level (not that CA has explained what type of daily usage would equate to the level of exposure that would warrant the label). In the case of a purse, that is likely to be daily exposure as compared to a piece of luggage which more typically has sporadic use.

Prop 65 requires businesses to warn people about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they make where that chemical is both (1) known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and (2) is listed on the “Prop 65 List.”

Here in the U.S. we have both federal, i.e., nationwide, laws as well as state law. I can tell you from counseling importer clients that ship products to retail stores located CA that it can seem like one is “importing” into CA due to all of the state-specific consumer product laws governing products sold within the state.

CA has a complex set of consumer product safety laws which, in large part, simply do not exist in other states. It’s arguable however, that without guidelines on product usage and exposure levels, they are useless.

So why is this label which is only required in CA ending up on products sold in the UK? Pure economics.

It is more cost effective to label merchandise at the production level, i.e., at the factory, so that it is compliant across all potential retail markets than to either forego a sale due to a lack of labeling, or cause a lag in sales time due to a need to relabel.

Therefore, some importers prefer to undergo testing and labeling overseas at the outset to both save money and deter potential future barriers to international trade.

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com