Gramercy Mills, Inc.

Text (OCR of the scan at left; may contain errors)

IN THE :VIATTER OF GRAMERCY MILLS, INC., ET AL.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC. , IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION A:-D THE TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTS IDENTIFICA TION ACTS Ducket C-1209. Complaint, May 1967-Decision, May, 1967 Consent order l.equiring a Passaic, r\. , manufacturer of children s swimwear to cease misbranding and falsely advertising its textile fiber products.

COYIPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Acts, the Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that Gramercy Mills Inc., a corporation, and A & S Sales Corporation, a corporation and Simon Glasser and Arthur Glasser, individually and as officers of said corporations, sometimes hereinafter referred to as respondents, nave violated the provisions of said Acts and the Rules and Regulations promulgated under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent Gramercy Mills, Inc. , is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New .Jersey. Said corporation is engaged in the manufacture and sale of textile fiber products, including children s swimwear, with its offce and principal place of business located at 435 Van Houten A venue, Passaic, New .J ersey.

Respondent A & S Sales Corporation is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New .Jersey. With regard to certain accounts, said corporation acts as a selling agent for corporate respondent , ,.

Complaint 71 F.

Gramercy Mils, Inc., with its offce and principal place of business located at 435 Van Houten Avenue, Passaic, New Jersey. Respondents Simon Glasser and Arthur Glasser are offcers corporate respondents Gramercy Mills, Inc., and A & S Sales Corporation. They formulate, direct and control the policies, acts and practices of said corporations and their address is 435 Van Hanten Avenue, Passaic, New Jersey.

PAR. 2. Respondents are now and for some time last past have been engaged in the introduction, delivery for introduction, manufacture for introduction, sale, advertising, and offering for sale in commerce, and in the transportation or causing to be transported in commerce, and in the importation into the United States, of textile fiber products; and have sold, offered for sale advertised, delivered, transported and caused to be transported textile fiber products, which have been advertised or offered for sale in commerce; and have sold, offered for sale advertised delivered, transported and caused to be transported, after shipment in commerce, textile fiber products, either in their original state or contained in other textile fiber products; as the terms commerce" and "textile fiber product" are defined in the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act.

PAR. 3. Certain of said textile fiber products were misbranded by respondents within the intent and meaning of Section 4 (a) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder in that they were falsely and deceptively stamped, tagged, labeled, invoiced, advertised, or otherwise identified as to the name or amount of the constituent fibers contained therein.

Among such misbranded textile fiber products, but not limited thereto, were children s swimsuits labeled by respondents as 50'7 Nylon, 50% Coiton " and 75j Cotton 25;i(; Kylon whereas, in truth and in fact, such fabrics contained substantially different amounts of fibers other than as represented. PAR. 4. Certain of said textile fiber products were further misbranded by respondents in that they were not stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified to show each element of information required to be disclosed by Section 4 (b) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, and in the manner and form prescribed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated under said Act.

Among such textile fiber products, but not limited thereto were children swimsuits without labels, and some with labels which failed:

GRAMERCY MILLS, I:"C. , ET AL. 753 751 Decision and Order (a) To disclose the true generic names of the fibers present; and (b) To disclose the true percentage of the fibers present by weight; and (c) To set forth the name, or other identification issued and registered by the Commission, of the manufacturer of the product or one or more persons subject to Section 3 of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act with respect to such product. PAR. 5. Certain of said textile fiber products were falsely and deceptively advertised in that respondents in making disclosures or implications as to the fiber content of such textile fiber products in written advertisements used to aid, promote, and to assist directly or indirectly, in the sale or offering for sale of said products, failed to set forth the required information as to fiber content as specified by Section 4 (c) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and in the manner and form prescribed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated under said Act. Among such textile fiber products, but not limited thereto, ,were children s swimsuits which were falsely and deceptively advertised by means of printed matter, in brochure form, distributed by the respondents to customers and salesmen in various parts of the United States. The aforesaid swimsuits were described by means of such terms as "Gingham " HSharkskin Denim Arnel" and H1\ladras " and the true generic names of the fibers contained in such products were not set forth. PAR. 6. The acts and practices of respondents as set forth above 'were, and are, in violation of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and constituted, and now constitute, unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive ads or practices, in commerce, under the Federal Trade Commission Act. DECISION AND ORDER The Federal Trade Comlnission having initiated an investigation of certain acts and practices of the respondents named in the caption hereof, and the respondents having been furnished thereafter with a copy of a draft of complaint which the Bureau of Textiles and Furs proposed to present to the Commission for its consideration and which, if issued by the Commission, would charge respondents with violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act; and The respondents and counsel for the Commission having there- Order 71 F.

after executed an agreement containing a consent order, an admission by the respondents of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the aforesaid draft of complaint, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the respondents that the law has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and provisions as required by the Commission s rules; and The Commission, having reason to believe that the respondents have violated said Acts, and having determined that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, hereby issues its complaint, accepts said agreement, makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order: 1. Respondent Gramercy J'vlil1s, Inc. , is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New Jersey, with its offce and principal place of business located at 435 Van Houten Avenue, Passaic, Nerv .Jersey. Respondent A & S Sales Corporation is a corporation organized existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New Jersey, with its offce and principal place of business located at 4:35 Van Houten Avenue, Passaic, New Jersey. \With regard to certain accounts, said corporation acts as selling agent for respondent Gramercy iills, Inc. Respondents Simon Glasser and Arthur Glasser are offcers of said corporations and their address is the same as that of said corporations.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this proceeding and of the respondents, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

mWER It is o)'de1' That respondents Gramercy Mills, lnc. , a corporation, and its offcers, and A & S Sales Corporation, a corporation, and its offcers, and ' Simon Glasser and Arthur Glasser, individually and as offcers of said corporations, and respondents representatives, agents and employees, directly or throug"h any corporate or other device, in connection with the introduction delivery for introduction, manufacture for introduction, sale, advertising, or offering for sale, in commerce, or the transportation or causing to be transported in commerce, or the importation into the United States, of any textile fiber product; or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, advertising, delivery, transportation, or causing to be transported, of any textile fiber product which has been advertised or offered for sale in commerce; or in CALIFORKIA SPORTSWEAR CO. ET AL. 755 751 Syllabus connection with the sale, offering for sale, advertising, delivery, transportation, or causing to be transported, after shipment in commerce, of any textile fiber product, whether in its original state or contained in other textile fibel' products, as the terms commerce " and "textile fiber product" are defined in the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, do forthwith cease and desist from;

A. Misbranding textile fiber products by: 1. Falsely or deceptively stamping, tagging, labeling, invoicing, advertising, or otherwise identifying such products as to tbe name or amount of the constituent fibers contained therein, 2. Failing to affx a stamp, tag, label, or other means of identification to each such product showing each element of information required to be disclosed by Seclion 4 (b) of the Textie Fiber Products Identification Act. B. Falsely and deceptively advertising textile fiber products by making any representations, by disclosure or by implication, as to fiber content of any textile fiber product in any Ivritten advertisement which is used to aid, promote, or assist, directly or indirectly, in the sale or offering for sale of such textile fiber product unless the same information required to be shown on the stamp, tag, label, or other means of identification under Section 4 (b) (1) and (2) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act is contained in the said advertisement, except that the percentages of a fiber present in the textile fiber product need not be stated. It is jwther ordered That the respondents herein shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report in ' writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which they have complied with this order.