Eddy & Larry Weinstein Furs, Inc.

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IN THE MATTER OF EDDY & LARRY WEINSTEIN FURS, INC., ET AL. CONSENT ORDER, ETC. , IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE FUR PRODUCTS LABELING ACTS Docket C-146S. Complaint, Dec. 196B-Decision, Dec. , 1968 Consent order requiring a :,ew York City manufacturing furrier to cease misbranding and falsely invoicing its fur products. COMPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Fur Products Labeling Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Acts, the Federal Trade Commission having reason to believe that Eddy & Larry Weinstein Furs Inc., a corporation, and Edward Weinstein and Lawrence Weinstein, individually and as offcers of said corporation, hereinafter EDDY & LARRY WEINSTEIN FURS, INC. , ET AL. 1447 1446 Complaint referred to as respondents, have violated the provisions of said Acts and the Rules and Regulations promulgated under the Fur Products Labeling 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 Eddy & Larry Weinstein Furs, Inc. is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York. Respondents Edward Weinstein and Lawrence Weinstein are offcers of said corporate respondent. They formulate, direct and control the policies, acts and practices of the said corporate respondent including those hereinafter set forth. Respondents are manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of fur products with their offce and principal place of business located at 363 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York. PAR. 2. Respondents are now and for some time last past have been engaged in the introduction into commerce, and .in the manufacture for introduction into commerce, and in the sale advertising, and offering for sale in commerce, and in the transportation and distribution in commerce, of fur products; and have manufactured for sale, sold, advertised, offered for sale transported and distributed fur products which have been made in whole or in part of furs which have been shipped and received in commerce as the terms "commerce fur " and "fur product" are defined in the Fur Products Labeling Act. PAR. 3. Certain of said fur products were misbranded in that they were falsely and deceptively labeled to show that fur contained therein was natural, when in fact such fur was pointed bleached, dyed, tip-dyed, or otherwise artificially colored, in violation of Section 4 (1) of the Fur Products Labeling Act. PAR. 4. Certain of said fur products were misbranded in that they were not labeled as required under the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and in the manner and form prescribed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder.

Among such misbranded fur products, but not limited thereto were fur products without labels and fur products with labels which failed:

1. To show the true animal name of the fur used in such fur products.

2. To disclose that the fur contained in the fur products was Complaint 74 F.

bleached, dyed, or otherwise artificially colored, when such was the fact.

3. To show the country of origin of the imported fur contained in the fur products.

PAR. 5. Certain of said fur products were misbranded in violation of the Fur Products Labeling Act in that they were not labeled in accordance with the Rules and Rcgulations promulgated thereunder in the following respects.

(a) The term "natural" was not used on labels to describe fur products which were not pointed, bleached, dyed, tip-dyed, or otherwise artificially colored, in violation of Rule 19 (g) of said Rules and Regulations.

(b) Information required under Section 4 (2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder was not set forth in the required sequence, in violation of Rule 30 of said Rules and Regulations. (c) Required item numbers were not set forth on labels, in violation of Rule 40 of said Rules and Regulations. PAR. 6. Certain of said fur products were falsely and deceptively invoiced by the respondents in that they were not invoiced as required by Section 5 (b) (1) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated under such Act. Among such falsely and deceptively invoiced fur products, but not limited thereto, were fur products covered by invoices which failed:

1. To show that the fur products contained or were composed of used fur, when such was the fact.

2. To show the country of origin of imported furs used in any such fur product.

PAR. 7. Certain of said fur products were falsely and deceptively invoiced in violation of the Fur Products Labeling Act in that they were not invoiced in accordance with the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder in the following respects. (a) The term "natural" was not used on invoices to describe fur products which were not pointed, bleached, dyed, tip-dyed, or otherwise artificially colored, in violation of Rule 19 (g) of said Rules and Regulations.

(b) Required item numbers were not set forth on invoices, in violation of Rule 40 of said Rules and Regulations. PAR. 8. The aforesaid acts and practices of respondents, as herein alleged, are in violation of the Fur Products Labeling EDDY & LARRY WEINSTEIN FURS, INC. , ET AL. 1449 1446 Decision and Order Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder and constitute unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

DECISION AND ORDER The Federal Trade Commission 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 Fur Products Labeling Act; and The respondents and counsel for the Commission having thereafter 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 respondents that the law has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and other provisions as required by the Commission s Rules; and The Commission having tbereafter considered the matter and having determined that it had reason to believe that the respondents have violated the said Acts, and that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, and having thereupon accepted the executed consent agreement and placed such agreement on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days, now in further conformity with the procedure prescribed in 9 2.34 (b) of its Rules, the Commission hereby issues its complaint, makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order;

1. Respondent Eddy & Larry Weinstein Furs, Inc., is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of tbe laws of the State of New York, with its offce and principal place of business located at 363 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York.

Respondents Edward Weinstein and Lawrence Weinstein arc offcers of said corporation and their address is the same as that of said corporation.

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.

1450 FEDERAL TRADE COYIMISSION DECISIONS Order 74 F.

ORDER It is ordered That respondents Eddy & Larry Weinstein Furs Inc., a corporation and its offcers, and Edward Weinstein and Lawrence Weinstein, individually and as offcers of said corporation and respondents' representatives, agents and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the introduction, or manufacture for introduction, into commerce, or the sale, advertising or offering for sale in commerce, or the transportation or distribution in commerce, of any fur product; or in connection with the manufacture for sale, sale, advertising, offering for sale, transportation or distribution of any fur product which is made in whole or in part of fur which has been shipped and received in commerce; as the terms commerce fur " and "fur product" are defined in the Fur Products Labeling Act, do forthwith cease and desist from; A. Misbranding any fur product by:

1. Representing, directly or by implication, on a label that the fur contained in such fur product is natural when such fur is pointed, bleached, dyed, tip-dyed, or otherwise artificially colored.

2. Failing to atnx a label to such fur product showing in words and in figures plainly legible a1l of the information required to be disclosed by each of the subsections of Section 4 (2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act. 3. Failng to set forth the term " natural" as part of the information required to be disclosed on a label under the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder to describe such fur product which is not pointed, bleached, dyed, tipdyed or otherwise artificially colored. 4. Failng to set forth information required under Section 4(2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder on a label in the sequence required by Rule 30 of the aforesaid Rules and Regulations.

5. Failing to set forth on a label the item number or mark assigned to such fur product.

B. Falsely or deceptively invoicing any fur product by : 1. Failing to furnish an invoice, as the term "invoice is defined in the Fur Products Labeling Act, showing in words and figures plainly legible a1l the information required to be disclosed by each of the subsections of SALLY GEE, INC. , ET AL. 1451 1451 Complaint Section 5 (b) (1) of the Fur Products Labeling Act. 2. Failing to set forth the term "natural" as part of the information required to be disclosed on an invoice under the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder to describe such fur product which is not pointed, bleached, dyed, tipdyed, or otherwise artificially colored. 3. Failing to set forth on an invoice the item number or mark assigned to such fur product.

It is JUTtheT ordered That the respondent corporation shall forthwith distribute a copy of this Order to each of its operating divisions.

It is JUTtheT ordered That the respondents herein shali, 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.