Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Office of Consumer & Business Education

(202) FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov

January 1999 1 2

Facts

for Business

No matter what you sell, the claims

you make about your product must

be truthful, accurate and

substantiated. Descriptions about your

products must not be misleading and must

disclose certain information that is important

to consumer purchasing decisions.

The Federal Trade Commission, which acts

in the interest of all consumers to prevent

deceptive or unfair acts or practices, has

prepared this brochure to answer questions

you might have about advertising policies in

general and advertising and labeling feather

and down products in particular.

GENERAL ADVERTISING

POLICIES

What truth-in-advertising

rules apply to advertisers of

feather and down products?

Under the Federal Trade CommissionAct, advertising must be truthful and

non-deceptive, and advertisers must have

evidence to back up their claims. All states

also have consumer protection laws that

apply to ads and products sold in that state.

If you sell feather and down products,

check the state laws. Some deal specifically

with feather and down products.

What makes an advertisement

deceptive?

According to the FTC, an ad is

deceptive if it contains a statement 

or omits information  that is likely to

mislead consumers acting reasonably under

the circumstances, and if it is material

that is, important to a consumers decision

to buy or use the product.

How does the FTC determine

if an ad is deceptive?

The FTC looks at an ad from the pointof view of the reasonable

consumer the typical person looking at

the ad. The FTC examines the ad in context

 words, phrases and pictures  to

determine what it conveys to consumers,

rather than focusing on certain words.

The FTC studies both express and

implied claims. An express claim is

explicitly stated in the ad. For example,

100% Eider down is an express claim

that the product contains 100 percent down

from the Eider duck, without any other

types of filling materials from the Eider

duck or other species. An implied claim is

made indirectly or by inference. The claim

natures best insulation,

accompanied by a picture of a

goose, suggests to a

consumer that the

product is filled with

Down...

 but not out

Advertising and Labeling

 of

 Feather and Down

Products
345

goose down. According to the law,

advertisers must have proof to back up

express and implied claims that consumers

would take from an ad.

The FTC also looks at what an ad does not

say  that is, whether the failure to disclose

information leaves consumers with a

misimpression about the product. For

example, consumers expect that products

labeled as feather- or down-filled consist of

plumage that  to the extent consistent with

modern mass production techniques  is

not crushed or damaged. As a result, it

would be deceptive to advertise and sell

feather and down products with more than

minimal crushed or damaged plumage

without disclosing the fact and amount of

the crushed or damaged plumage. Without

any disclosures to the contrary, consumers

also expect that feather- or down-filled

products contain only new, unused

plumage. It is unacceptable to add crushed,

damaged or secondhand plumage to feathers

and down without disclosing the fact and

amount of such material; truthful, nondeceptive disclosures of any crushed,

damaged or secondhand feather and down

materials are acceptable.

The FTC also determines whether a claim is

material  that is, important to a

consumers decision to buy or use the

product. Material claims include

representations about a products

performance, features, safety, price, or

effectiveness. Given the wellknown insulating

properties of down, for

example, it is likely that

claims about down content

would be important to consumers

considering buying down-filled comforters

or garments.

Finally, the FTC looks at whether the

advertiser has enough evidence to support

the claims in an ad. The law requires that

advertisers have proof for all material

claims before their ad runs.

ADVERTISING AND

LABELING FEATHER AND

DOWN PRODUCTS

What kinds of claims about

feather and down products are

material to consumers?

These days, claims about content, species

and cleanliness are among the factors

that seem especially important to consumers

who are considering buying feather and

down products. As market conditions

change, though, so will the information

necessary for effective marketing.

Content Labeling

Pure... All... 100%... A product may not

be called pure down, all down, 100%

down  or described by any other word

or term indicating that the product contains

only down  unless thats the case. The

same principle applies to feathers and other

filling materials.

Unqualified Down Claims. Consider the

way a consumer is likely to interpret an ad

or a label that describes the products filling

simply as down. Its reasonable to assume

that consumers expect down content to

reflect diligent use of modern mass

production techniques calibrated to make the

most of both efficiency and down content.

Applying those production techniques

should yield down content of more than 70

percent for products labeled down.

(Before they were rescinded, the FTC

Down Guides allowed the 70 percent

standard. According to the FTC, the

resulting 30 percent tolerance was outdated

and unwarranted, and did nothing to

promote truthful labeling and advertising

practices.) Producers selling down products

in Canada already must meet Canadas 75

percent down requirement. Producers

selling down products in Japan are able to

manufacture products with as much as 90

percent down content.

When the FTC decided to rescind the Down

Guides, it stated that this action should

provide incentive for the industry to create

effective standards and develop better

methods of product differentiation. For

example, the industry is in the best position

to determine an appropriate outer limit for

non-down content in a product labeled
down. It also is in the best position to

educate consumers about the meaning of the

term down and about differentiating

among down-filled products. Both

producers and retailers might choose to

move toward a standard of full and accurate

disclosure, with all down-filled products

labeled to show the actual percentage of

down content instead of relying on the more

ambiguous down label. Or manufacturers

might choose to establish and disclose a

minimum standard for the down content of

their down products. For example:

Down  consisting of a minimum of 80

percent down and a maximum of 20 percent

waterfowl feathers and down or feather

fiber.

Manufacturers should be aware that in

rescinding its Guides, the FTC did not

withdraw its scrutiny from this market.

Indeed, the agency will continue to monitor

claims about down because theres no way

for consumers to determine accuracy for

themselves. In the meantime, it is reasonable

to expect that sellers in North America will

follow the Canadian minimum of 75 percent

down in a product labeled down, as they

strive to achieve the highest standard

consistent with modern production

techniques.

Percentage Claims. When a product is

labeled with a specific percentage of down

(say, 50% down, 50% waterfowl

feathers), only a modest deviation

reflecting unavoidable manufacturing

variations, despite the exercise of due care,

is acceptable. This standard applies to all

plumage used as filling materials. Under

current production methods, manufacturers

should produce feather and down blend

goods having a down content that is plus or

minus two to five percent of the percentage

number on the label. This deviation must

reflect only the unavoidable variations of the

manufacturing process; it is deceptive to

intentionally produce and sell feather and

down products with anything less than the

claimed down content. In short, a producer

may not shoot for the

tolerance. For

example, if a

manufacturer

produces pillows

labeled 50% down,

50% waterfowl

feathers, the FTC expects all or nearly all

of these pillows to be

filled with 50% down

and 50% waterfowl

feathers. If all or a large portion of the

pillows actually contain, for example, 45%

down, then the pillows must be relabeled

45% down. If a manufacturer deliberately

labels the pillows with a higher percentage

down content than the actual down content

that the manufacturer intends to put into the

product, the manufacturer is acting

deceptively.

Species

When a label identifies a particular species

(e.g., goose down, duck down), only a

modest deviation reflecting unavoidable

manufacturing variations, despite the

exercise of due care, is acceptable.

Truthful, nondeceptive disclosures of any

species (waterfowl or landfowl) are

acceptable.

Cleanliness

The FTC pays close attention to consumer

health and safety issues in product

advertising and labeling. Consumers expect

that feather and down products will be free

of foreign matter and contaminants.

How can the industry determine and convey

cleanliness? One way is through the

measurement of oxygen number. Because

modern mass production techniques allow

the industry to produce feather and down

materials efficiently with oxygen numbers

below 10, cleanliness of feather and down

filling should be consistent with an oxygen

number of less than 10, no matter how it is

measured. Finished goods manufacturers

and retailers may contract for feather and

down material that is cleaner  or

otherwise superior  to these minimum

criteria. By doing so  and by making

truthful and substantiated comparative

claims in their ads  they can offer

consumers feather and down products that

match their various preferences.

6 7 8

50% down

50% waterfowl feathers
What penalties can be

imposed against a company that

uses false or deceptive ads or labels

for feather and down products?

The penalties depend on the nature of theviolation. The remedies that the FTC or

the courts have imposed include:

Cease and desist orders: These

legally-binding orders require companies to:

3 stop running the deceptive ad or

engaging in the deceptive practice,

3 be able to substantiate claims in future

ads, and

3 report to FTC staff about the

substantiation they have for claims in

new ads.

Violations of cease and desist orders can

result in civil penalties of up to $11,000 per

violation.

Civil penalties: Sometimes, a company that

is not subject to a cease and desist order can

be bound by an earlier Commission finding

(in a case brought against another company)

that a certain practice is deceptive and

assessed civil penalties for knowingly

engaging in the deception. This can happen

when a synopsis of Commission decisions

in a particular area is prepared and served

on industry members. Prior Commission

decisions about the labeling and advertising

of down-filled products have been compiled

into a synopsis that was served on many

members of the industry.

Consumer redress and other monetary

remedies: Other advertisers have had to

give full or partial refunds to all consumers

who bought the product.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To learn more about making accurate

representations in advertising, see the FTC

brochure, Frequently Asked Advertising

Questions: A Guide for Small Business, and

the FTCs Deception Statement,

Substantiation Statement, and Unfairness

Statement. These documents are available

on the Internet at www.ftc.gov and from

the FTCs Consumer Response Center, 600

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20580; 202-FTC-HELP (382-4357);

TDD for the hearing impaired 202-326-

2502. Manufacturers of textile and wool

products may be interested in the FTCs

new business guide, Threading Your Way

Through the Labeling Requirements Under

the Textile and Wool Acts, also available on

the Internet. For copies of the new guide,

or for answers to frequently asked questions

about textile and wool labeling

requirements, call 202-326-3553.

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