Wool products under a microscope
Want to label that sweater cashmere?
Do so, and starting this year, the item it is attached to may be scrutinized a little more closely.
In December, President Bush signed into law The Wool Suit Fabric Labeling Fairness and International Standards Conforming Act, which took effect Jan. 1.
The law, which revises the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, expands the scope of misbranding, regarding descriptions of fibers as 'cashmere' and wool quality claims, said the New York-based law firm Tompkins and Davidson.
Cashmere products must be 'fine (dehaired) undercoat fibers produced by a cashmere goat, the average diameter of the fibers must not exceed 19 microns, and the product cannot contain more than 3 percent by weight of cashmere fibers with average diameters that exceed 30 microns. The law permits a 24 percent coefficient of variation for the fiber measurement,' Tompkins and Davidson said.
Claims that wool fabric is 'Super X' (for fabrics of pure new wool) and 'X' (for fabrics with at least 45 percent pure new wool) in advertising must comply with a table matching a product's maximum average fiber diameter to particular quality claims.
Under the Wool Products Labeling Act violations are 'considered an unfair method of competition and an unfair and deceptive act or practice,' the firm reports.
'The Federal Trade Commission has an arsenal of remedies for violations, such as administrative orders, civil penalties, injunctions and other remedies,' Tompkins and Davidson notes.
These include consumer redress in a federal district court action. Improperly labeled imported items can be held up by Customs and goods ordered redelivered after release may be subject to liquidated damages.
