[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29581-29583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11596]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public 
comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance for information 
collection requirements contained in the rules and regulations under 
the Fur Products Labeling Act (Fur Rules or Rules). That clearance 
expires on August 31, 2021.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 2, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Fur Rules; PRA 
Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your comment 
online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on 
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jock K. Chung, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 
Mail Code CC-9528, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, 
(202) 326-2984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Rules and regulations under the Fur 
Products Labeling Act, 16 CFR part 301.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0099.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Likely Respondents: Retailers, manufacturers, processors, and 
importers of furs and fur products.
    Frequency of Response: Third party disclosure; recordkeeping 
requirement.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 303,001 hours (50,100 hours for 
recordkeeping + 252,901 hours for disclosure).
    Recordkeeping: 50,100 hours [950 retailers incur an average 
recordkeeping burden of about 18 hours per year (17,100 hours total); 
75 manufacturers incur an average recordkeeping burden of about 60 
hours per year (4,500 hours total); and 950 importers of furs and fur 
products incur an average recordkeeping burden of 30 hours per year 
(28,500 hours total)].
    Disclosure: 252,901 hours [(214,834 hours for labeling + 67 hours 
for invoices + 38,000 hours for advertising)].
    Estimated annual cost burden: $5,194,259 (solely relating to labor 
costs).
    Abstract: The Fur Products Labeling Act (Fur Act) \1\ prohibits the 
misbranding and false advertising of fur products. The Fur Rules 
establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making 
informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that 
assist the Commission in enforcing the Rules. The Rules also provide a 
procedure for exemption from certain disclosure provisions under the 
Fur Act.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 69 et seq.
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    As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the 
information collection requirements contained in the Commission's Fur 
Rules.

Burden Statement

    Staff's burden estimates are based on data from the Department of 
Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and data or other input from 
the Fur Industry Council of America. The relevant information 
collection requirements in these rules and staff's corresponding burden 
estimates follow. The estimates address the number of hours needed and 
the labor costs incurred to comply with the requirements.
    The Fur Products Labeling Act (Fur Act) \2\ prohibits the 
misbranding and false advertising of fur products. The Fur Rules 
establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making 
informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that 
assist the Commission in enforcing the Rules. The Rules also provide a 
procedure for exemption from certain disclosure provisions under the 
Fur Act.
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    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 69 et seq.
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    Estimated annual hours burden: 303,001 hours (50,100 hours for 
recordkeeping + 252,901 hours for disclosure).
    Recordkeeping: The Fur Rules require that retailers, manufacturers, 
processors,

[[Page 29582]]

and importers of furs and fur products keep certain records in addition 
to those they may keep in the ordinary course of business. Staff 
estimates that 950 retailers incur an average recordkeeping burden of 
about 18 hours per year (17,100 hours total); 75 manufacturers incur an 
average recordkeeping burden of about 60 hours per year (4,500 hours 
total); and 950 importers of furs and fur products incur an average 
recordkeeping burden of 30 hours per year (28,500 hours total). The 
combined recordkeeping burden for the industry is approximately 50,100 
hours annually.
    Disclosure: Staff estimates that 1,025 respondents (75 
manufacturers + 950 retail sellers of fur garments) each require an 
average of 30 hours per year to determine label content (30,750 hours 
total), and an average of 30 hours per year to draft and order labels 
(30,750 hours total). Staff estimates that the total number of garments 
subject to the fur labeling requirements annually is approximately 
3,680,000.\3\ Staff estimates that for approximately 50 percent of 
these garments (1,840,000) labels are attached manually, requiring 
approximately four minutes per garment for a total of 122,667 hours 
annually. For the remaining 1,840,000, the process of attaching labels 
is semi-automated and requires an average of approximately one minute 
per item, for a total of 30,667 hours. Thus, the total burden for 
attaching labels is 153,334 hours, and the total burden for labeling 
garments is 61,500 hours per year (30,750 hours to determine label 
content + 30,750 hours to draft and order labels).
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    \3\ The total number of imported fur garments, fur-trimmed 
garments, and fur accessories is estimated to be approximately 
3,500,000 based on industry data. Estimated domestic production 
totals 180,000.
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    Staff estimates that the incremental burden associated with the Fur 
Rules' invoice disclosure requirement, beyond the time that would be 
devoted to preparing invoices in the absence of the Rules, is 
approximately one minute per invoice for pelts.\4\ The invoice 
disclosure requirement applies to fur pelts, which are generally sold 
in groups of at least 1100, on average. Based on information from the 
Fur Industry Council of America, staff estimates total sales of 
4,450,000 pelts annually. Thus, the invoice disclosure requirement 
entails an estimated total burden of 67 hours (4,046 total invoices x 
one minute).
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    \4\ The invoice disclosure burden for PRA purposes excludes the 
time that respondents would spend for invoicing, apart from the Fur 
Rules, in the ordinary course of business. See 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
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    Staff estimates that the Fur Rules' advertising disclosure 
requirements impose an average burden of 40 hours per year for each of 
the approximately 950 domestic fur retailers, or a total of 38,000 
hours.
    Thus, staff estimates the total disclosure burden to be 
approximately 252,901 hours.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $5,194,259 (solely relating to labor 
costs). The chart below summarizes the total estimated costs.

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                              Task                                  Hourly rate    Burden hours     Labor cost
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Determine label content.........................................          $30.00          30,750        $922,500
Draft and order labels..........................................           19.00          30,750         584,250
Attach labels...................................................       \5\ 13.00         122,667       1,594,671
Invoice disclosures.............................................           14.00              67             938
Prepare advertising disclosures.................................           30.00          38,000       1,140,000
Recordkeeping...................................................           18.00          50,100         951,900
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    Total.......................................................  ..............  ..............       5,194,259
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    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other 
capital costs associated with the Fur Rules. Because the labeling of 
fur products has been an integral part of the manufacturing process for 
decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment necessary to 
comply with the Rules' labeling requirements. Industry sources indicate 
that much of the information required by the Fur Act and Rules would be 
included on the product label even absent the Rules. Similarly, 
invoicing, recordkeeping, and advertising disclosures are tasks 
performed in the ordinary course of business so that covered firms 
would incur no additional capital or other non-labor costs as a result 
of the Act or the Rules.
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    \5\ Per industry sources, most fur labeling is done in the 
United States. This rate is reflective of an average domestic hourly 
wage for such tasks performed in the United States, which is derived 
from recent BLS statistics.
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Request for Comments

    Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites 
comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize 
the burden of maintaining records and providing disclosures to 
consumers. All comments must be received on or before August 2, 2021.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before August 2, 2021. Write 
``Fur Rules; PRA Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment. Your 
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 
outbreak and the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail 
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We encourage you 
to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov 
website.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Fur Rules; PRA 
Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment and on the envelope, 
and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580; or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will become publicly available at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that 
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In

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particular, your comment should not include any sensitive personal 
information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number; date 
of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, 
or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account 
number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible 
for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health 
information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable 
health information. In addition, your comment should not include any 
``trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . . 
is privileged or confidential''--as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--
including in particular competitively sensitive information such as 
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has 
been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove 
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the 
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General 
Counsel grants that request.
    The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit 
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before August 2, 
2021. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-11596 Filed 6-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P