Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2005/12/20/E5-7531/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-for-omb-review-comment-request
Timestamp: 2017-09-25 22:58:27
Document Index: 266257728

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 301', 'art 300', 'art 303', 'art 301', 'art 300', 'art 303', 'art 1320']

A Notice by the Federal Trade Commission on 12/20/2005
Comments must be received on or before January 19, 2006.
70 FR 75461
75461-75465 (5 pages)
E5-7531
1. Regulations Under the Fur Products Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. 69 et seq. (“Fur Act”), 16 CFR Part 301 (OMB Control Number: 3084-0099)
2. Regulations Under the Wool Products Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. 68 et seq. (“Wool Act”), 16 CFR Part 300 (OMB Control Number: 3084-0100)
3. Regulations Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, 15 U.S.C. 70 et seq. (“Textile Act”), 16 CFR Part 303 (OMB Control Number: 3084-0101)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E5-7531 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E5-7531
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. Comments should refer to “Apparel Rules: FTC File No. P948404” to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope and should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form, (in ASCII format, WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as part of or as an attachment to email messages directed to the following email box: paperworkcomment@ftc.gov. However, if the comment contains any material for which confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper form, and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled “Confidential.” [1]
For the Fur Act Regulations, Wool Act Regulations, and Textile Act Regulations, contact Carol Jennings, Attorney, Enforcement Division, Bureau of Consumer Protection 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2996.
On September 28, 2005, the FTC sought comment on the information collection requirements associated with regulations under the Fur Act, 16 CFR Part 301 (OMB Control Number 3084-0099); regulations under the Wool Act, 16 CFR Part 300 (OMB Control Number 3084-0100); regulations under the Textile Act, 16 CFR Part 303 (OMB Control Number 3084-0101); and the Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR 423 (OMB Control Number 3084-0103). See 70 FR 56692. No comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations that implement the PRA (5 CFR Part 1320), the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to extend the existing paperwork clearance for the rules. All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or before January 19, 2006.
The Fur Act prohibits the misbranding and false advertising of fur products. The Fur Act Regulations, 16 Start Printed Page 75462CFR 301, establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission in enforcing these regulations. The Regulations also provide a procedure for exemption from certain disclosure provisions under the Fur Act.
Determine label content $ 20.00 28,000 $560,000
4 Per industry sources, most fur labeling is done in the U.S., and this rate is reflective of an average domestic hourly wage for such tasks. Conversely, attaching labels with regard to the others regulations discussed herein is mostly performed by foreign labor, as detailed in note 5.
Start Printed Page 75463
Total 4,460,001
5 For products that are imported, this work generally is done in the country where they are manufactured. According to information compiled by an industry trade association using data from the International Trade Commission, the U.S. Customs Service, and the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 90% of apparel and other textile products used in the United States is imported. With the remaining 10% attributable to U.S. production at an approximate domestic hourly wage of $8.50 to attach labels, staff has calculated a weighted average hourly wage of $3 per hour attributable to U.S. and foreign labor combined. The estimated percentage of imports supplied by particular countries is based on trade data for 2001 compiled by the Office of Textiles and Apparel, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Wages in major textile exporting countries, factored into the above hourly wage estimate, were based on data published in February 2000 by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (See “Wages, Benefits, Poverty Line, and Meeting Workers” Needs in the Apparel and Footwear Industries of Selected Countries,” Table I-2: “Prevailing or Average Wages in the Manufacturing Sector and in the Footwear and Apparel Industries in Selected Countries, Latest Available Year”).
The Textile Act prohibits the misbranding and false advertising of textile fiber products. The Textile Act Regulations, 16 CFR 303, establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission in enforcing the Regulations. The Regulations also contain a petition procedure for requesting the establishment of generic names for textile fibers.5
Disclosure: Approximately 32,000 textile firms, producing or importing about 19.9 billion textile fiber products annually, are subject to the Regulations' disclosure requirements.[6] Staff Start Printed Page 75464estimates the burden of determining label content to be 20 hours per year per respondent, or a total of 640,000 hours and the burden of drafting and ordering labels to be 5 hours per respondent per year, or a total of 160,000 hours. Staff believes that the process of attaching labels is now fully automated and integrated into other production steps for about 40 percent of all affected products. For the remaining 11.9 billion items (60 percent of 19.9 billion), the process is semi-automated and requires an average of approximately two seconds per item, for a total of 6,611,111 hours per year. Thus, the total estimated annual burden for all respondents is 7,411,111 hours. Staff believes that any additional burden associated with advertising disclosure requirements or the filing of generic fiber name petitions would be minimal (less than 10,000 hours) and can be subsumed within the burden estimates set forth above.
Determine label content $ 20.00 640,000 $12,800,000
7 See note 5.
10 See note 5.
Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other capital costs associated with the Rule. Because the labeling of textile products has been an integral part of the manufacturing process for decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment necessary to comply with the Rule's labeling requirements. Based on knowledge of the industry, staff believes that much of the information required by the Rule would be included on the Start Printed Page 75465product label even absent those requirements.
[FR Doc. E5-7531 Filed 12-19-05; 8:45 am]