The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the US has penalised apparel company Lions Not Sheep Products, LLC, and its owner Sean Whalen for falsely claiming that its imported apparel was 'Made in USA'. The company added phoney 'Made in USA' labels to clothing and accessories imported from China and other countries. The FTC’s order requires Lions Not Sheep and Whalen to stop making bogus 'Made in USA' claims, come clean about foreign production, and pay a monetary judgment.
Utah-based Lions Not Sheep is an apparel company that sells t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, and sweaters on their own website as well as through Amazon and Etsy. The company and its owner Whalen 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.”
Their 'Made in USA' claims online and on product labels included “Made in the USA,” “Made in America,” “Are your products USA Made?” “100% AMERICAN MADE,” and “BEST DAMN AMERICAN MADE GEAR ON THE PLANET.” In most cases, the products advertised using these claims consisted of wholly imported shirts and hats with limited finishing work performed in the United States.
The complaint said that on 8 October 2020, Whalen published a video of himself to his social media accounts, with the title MADE IN AMERICA! alongside a Chinese flag. In the video, Whalen said he could conceal the fact that his shirts were made in China by ripping out the origin tags and replacing them with tags stating that the merchandise was made in the United States.
The FTC fined Whalen and Lions Not Sheep an amount of US$ 211,335. They must also stop claiming that products are made in the US unless they can show that the product’s final assembly or processing—and all significant processing—takes place here and that all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced here.
Both Whalen and Lions Not Sheep have been prohibited from labelling products as 'Made in USA' unless the final assembly or processing, and all significant processing that goes into the products occur in the United States; and unless all or virtually all ingredients or components of the products are made and sourced in the United States. They must also submit compliance reports.
Under the order, any qualified 'Made in USA' claims must include a clear and conspicuous disclosure about the extent to which the product contains foreign parts, ingredients or components, or processing.
