The United States (US) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that a marketer of outdoor accessories has agreed to settle charges that it falsely claimed certain of its products were “Made in the U.S.A,” or “Truly Made in the USA,” even though the products contained substantial foreign content.
Based in Logan Utah, E.K. Ekcessories, Inc. sells iPhone accessories, bottle holders, lens cleaners, dog collars, leashes, and other outdoor accessories directly to consumers on its website, ekusa.com, and through online sellers such as Amazon and REI.
The company claimed on its website that “For 28 years E.K. Ekcessories has been producing superior quality made accessories in our 60,000 sq. ft. facility in Logan, Utah;” and “Our source of pride and satisfaction abounds from a true ‘Made in USA’ product.” In fact, the company imports many of its products and components, according to the complaint. The FTC also alleged that the company distributed deceptive promotional materials for its products to third-party retailers such as Amazon and REI.
Under the proposed order, the company is prohibited from claiming that any product is made in the US, unless that product is all or virtually all made in the US. The company also is prohibited from making any misleading claims about a product’s country of origin and from providing deceptive promotional material to third-party retailers, or otherwise providing the “means or instrumentalities” for others to make deceptive US-origin claims. The company also is required to contact all distributors who bought or received products between 1 January 2010 and 1 May 2013, and provide them with a notice and a copy of the order.
The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement package containing the proposed consent order for public comment was 4-0. The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through 21 November 2013, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final.
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