It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Watch / Surveillance

22 January 2025

2 minutes

Instead of a price or promotion being a static feature of a product, the same product could have a different price or promotion based on a variety of inputs—including consumer-related data and their behaviours and preferences, the location, time, and channels by which a consumer buys the product, according to the perspective.

Data Abuse: US Retailers Frequently Using People’s Personal Information to Set Targeted, Tailored Prices

Online retailers frequently use people’s personal information to set targeted, tailored prices for goods and services—from a person's location and demographics, down to their mouse movements on a web page, reveal initial findings from an ongoing surveillance pricing market study.

Staff Writer

Manufacturing / Scam

11 August 2022

2 minutes

The Federal Trade Commission’s proposed order will stop Adam J. Harmon and his companies from making further deceptive Made in USA claims, and impose a civil penalty for their past deceptive claims.

Company Falsely Claimed PPE was 'Made in the USA', Fined over $150,000

An American company has been slapped a $157,683.37 penalty for deceiving consumers about the country of origin of their products.

Staff Writer

Money Transfers / Walmart Scam

29 June 2022

4 minutes

The FTC says Walmart has known for many years that scammers use its locations to get money for 'grandparent', romance, and other scams, but it didn’t properly warn people or train its employees to prevent fraud. According to the FTC, many Walmart locations didn’t display or give people information about potential fraud, which could have stopped them from sending money to a scammer.

Scam Alert: Walmart Facilitated Money Transfer Fraud That Fleeced Customers Out of Hundreds of Millions

The Federal Trade Commission of the US on Tuesday sued Walmart for allowing its money transfer services to be used by fraudsters, who fleeced consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. texfash.com reports.

Staff Writer

Manufacturing / Scam

16 May 2022

2 minutes

Lions Not Sheep Products, LLC, and its owner Sean Whalen added phoney 'Made in USA' labels to clothing and accessories imported from China and other countries. They heavily marketed it through social media channels, claiming that it would “show people it’s possible to live your life as a LION, Not a sheep.”

US Company Fined for Sticking 'Made in USA' Labels on Clothing Imported from China

Utah-based Lions Not Sheep and its owner Sean Whalen have been fined $211,335 by the US Federal Trade Commission for replacing the original tags with 'Made in USA' labels.

Staff Writer

Greenwashing / Legal Action

11 April 2022

2 minutes

“Kohl’s and Walmart are paying millions of dollars under the FTC’s Penalty Offense Authority for mislabeling their rayon products as bamboo,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “False environmental claims harm both consumers and honest businesses, and companies that greenwash can expect to pay a price.”

Kohl's, Walmart caught greenwashing; fined $5.5 million for marketing rayon products as bamboo

The US Federal Trade Commission used its Penalty Offense Authority last week to take action against retail giants Kohl’s, Inc and Walmart, Inc for falsely marketing dozens of rayon textile products as bamboo.