Roggen Bros. & Co., Inc
Volume 17 · 17 F.T.C. 45
deceptive advertisingproduct labeling
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Roggen Bros. & Co., Inc, 17 F.T.C. 45 (1932). Consumer Law Library, https://consumerlawlibrary.org/decisions/v017-0008
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IN THE MATTER OF ROGGEN BROS. & CO., INC.
COMPLAINT AND ORDER IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. C) OF AN ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED SEPT. 26, 1914 Docket '2053. Com-plaint, June 29, 1932-order, Sept. 1!'2, 1932 Consent order requiring respondent corporation, its officers, etc., to cease and desist from sale in interstate commerce of shirts, not made in Troy, N.Y., with words "Troy Tailored" or " Troy " thereon or attached thereto. Mr. Henry 0. Lank for the Commission.
Col\IPLAINT Acting in the public interest, pursuant to the provisions of an act of Congress approved September 26, 1914, entitled "An act to create a Federal Trade Commission, to define its powers and duties, and for other purposes", the Federal Trade Commission charges that the Roggen Bros. & Co., Inc., a corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondent, has been and is using unfair methods of competition in interstate commerce, in violation of the provisions of section 5 of the said act, and states its charges in that respect as follows: PARAGRAPH 1. The respondent is a corporation organized under the· laws of the State of New York. The executive offices of the respondent are located in the city of New York, State of New York, and their factory or mill is located in the city of Elizabeth, State of New Jersey. Respondent is engaged in the manufacture of men's shirts and in the sale and distribution thereof in commerce between and among the various States of the United States. Respondent sells its shirts to retail dealers exclusively. It causes its said shirts when so sold to be shipped from its factory located in the State of New Jersey, or from its executive office located in the State of New York, to purchasers thereof located in a State or States of the United States other than the State from which the shipment was made. In the course and conduct of its business respondent is in competition with other corporations, individuals, firms and partnerships likewise engaged in the sale and distribution in interstate commerce of men's shirts.
PAR. 2. Respondent in the course of its business as described in paragraph 1 hereof, places on the shirts manufactured by them in Elizabeth, N.J., tags or labels bearing the words "Troy Tailored " without other distinguishing marks to show the true place of manufacture of said shirts. The said shirts are in fact manufactured or made in Elizabeth, N.J., and not in Troy. 46 FEDERAL TRADE COMl\IISSION DECISIONS Order 17 F.T.C.
PAR. 3. For a long period of time the manufacturers operating in Troy, N.Y., and the Troy (N.Y.) Chamber of Commerce and other associations of business men in that city, have extensively advertised men's shirts and other products manufactured in Troy, N.Y. In such advertising the words" Troy,"" Made in Troy,"" Troy Made," "Tailored in Troy," "Troy Tailored" have been featured, together with the claim that men's shirts made in Troy meant superior design, style, quality, and workmanship. As a result of such advertising the word "Troy" when used in connection with shirts for men has come to be understood by the trade and consuming public as indicating that shirts made in Troy, N.Y., are of the quality which, in the minds of the consuming public as the result of such advertising, has become associated with shirts for men actually manufactured in Troy, N.Y., and labeled and advertised as having been manufactured in that city. The use by respondent of the word" Troy" on labels placed on shirts manufactured in Elizabeth, N.J., and sold by it as aforesaid is calculated to and has the capacity and tendency to deceive the purchasing public, and such labels have been and are being used by respondent as a means of enabling it to pass off shirts not in fact made in Troy, N.Y.
PAR·. 4. The acts and things done by respondent as hereinbefore set out are to the prejudice of the public and respondent's competitors and constitute unfair methods of competition in interstate commerce within the intent and meaning of section 5 of an act of Congress entitled " An act to create a Federal Trade Commission, to define its powers and duties, and for other purposes", approved September 26, 1914.
ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST This proceeding coming on for final hearing by the Federal Trade Commission upon the record, including the complaint of the Commission, the respondent's answer that respondent waives hearing on the charges set forth in the complaint and desires not to contest the proceeding and consents that the Commission may make, enter, and serve upon it without trial, without evidence and without findings as to the facts or other intervening procedure an order to cease and desist from the violations of law charged in the complaint; and the Commission having duly considered the matter and being now fully ad vised in the premises:
It is ordered, That respondent, its officers, agents, representatives, and employees, cease and desist from selling or offering for sale in interstate commerce shirts with the words " Troy Tailored " or the word " Troy" alone or in combination or conjunction with any other I BOGGEN BROS. & CO., INC. 47 -45 Order word or words placed upon such shirts or upon labels or tags attached thereto unless such shirts are in fact manufactured or made in the city of Troy, N.Y.
It is fwrther ordered, That the respondent, Roggen Bros. & Co., Inc., shall, within 60 days after the service upon it of a copy of this order, file with the Federal Trade Commission a report in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which it has complied with the order to cease and desist hereinabove set forth. Syllabus 17 F.T.C.