Tuftwick Carpet Mills, Inc.

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

IN THE MATTER OF TUFTWICK CARPET MILLS, INC., ET AL.

COKSENT ORDER, ETC" IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTS IDENTIFICATIO:- ACTS Docket C-1469. Complaint, Dec. 1968-Decisi, Dec. , 1968 Consent order requiring a Cartersvile, Ga.. carpet manufacturer to cease misbranding and falsely advertising its textile fiber products and failing to keep required fiber content records.

COMPLAINT 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 Tuftwick Carpet 2Vills, Inc. , a corporation, and Edward P. Chamberlain, individually and as an offcer of said corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondents. have 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 its in respect thereof would bein the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent Tuftwick Carpet Mils, Inc., is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Georgia, with its offce and principal place of business located at 18 South Gilmer Street, Cartersville, Georgia.

Individual respondent Edward P. ChamberJain is an offcer of said corporate respondent. He formulates, directs and controls the acts, practices and policies of said corporate respondent, including the acts and practices hereinafter referred to. The offce and principal place of business of said individual respondent is the same as that of the corporate respondent. Respondents are engaged in the manufacture and sale of carpeting.

PAR. 2. Respondents are now and for some time last past have been engaged in the 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 bc tr.ansported, textile fiber products, which TUFTWICK CARPET Mills, INC. , ET AL. 1471 1470 Complaint 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 textie fiber products; as the terms "commerce" and "textile fiber product" are defined in the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. PAR. 3. Certain of said textie fiber products were misbranded by the 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 textile fiber products (carpeting) with labels which set forth the fiber content as " Acrylic Tuft Shag," thereby representing the entire carpet to be as described, whereas, in truth and in fact, the said carpet contained substantially different fibers and amounts of fibers than represented. PAR. 4. Certain of such 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 Tcxtic Fibcr Products Identification Act, and in the manner and form prescribed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated under said Act.

Among such misbrand cd textile fiber products, but not limited thereto, were textilc fiber products with labels which failed: 1. To disclose the true generic names of the fibers present; and 2. To disclose the true percentage of such fibers. PAR. 5. Certain of said textile fiber products were misbranded in violation of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act in that they were not labeled in accordance with the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder in that samples, swatches or specimens of textile fiber products subject to the aforesaid Act, which were used to promote or effect sales of such textile fiber products, were not labeled to show their rcspectivc fiber content and other information required by Section 4 (b) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, in violation of Rule 21 (a) of the aforesaid Rules and Regulations.

PAR. 6. Certain of said textile fiber products were falsely and deceptively advertised in that respondents in making disclosures Decision and Order 74 F.

or implications as to the fiber content of such textile fiber products in written advertisements used to aid, promote and 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 textile fiber products (fioor coverings) which were falsely and deceptively advertised by means of a price list, distributed by respondents throughout the United States in that the true generic names of the fibers in such products were not set forth. PAR. 7. Respondents have failed to maintain proper records showing the fiber content of the textile fiber products manufactured by them, in violation of Section 6 of the Textie Fiber Products Identification Act and Rule 39 of the Regulations promulgated thereunder.

PAR. 8. The acts and practices of respondents, as set forth above were, and are, in violation of the Tcxtile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and constituted, and now constitute, unfair methods of competition and unfair and dcceptive acts or 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 thc respondents having been furnished thereafter with a copy of a draft of complaint which the Bureau of' Textilcs 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 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 settement 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 thereafter considered the matter and having determined that it had reason to belicvc that the respond- TUFTWICK CARPET MILLS, INC., ET AL. 1473 1470 Decision and Order ents 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 34 (b) of its Rules, the Commission hereby issues its complaint, makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order:

1. Respondent Tuftwick Carpet Mils, Inc., is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of thc State of Georgia, with its offce and principal place of business located at 18 South Gilmer Street, Cartersville, Georgia.

Respondent Edward P. Chamberlain is an offcer of said corporation and his 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.

ORDER It is ordered That respondents Tuftwick Carpet :vils, Inc. , a , in-corporation, and its offcers, and Edward P. Chamberlain dividually and as an offcer of said corporation, and respondents representatives, agents and employees, directly or through 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 importation into the United States of any textilc fiber product: or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, advertising, delivery, tran" portation or causing to be transported, of any textie fiber product, which has been advertised or offered for sale in comad-merce; or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, vertising, 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 textie fiber 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 1474 FEDERAL TRADE COM).ISSIOK DECISIONS Order 74 F.

products as to the 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 in a clear, legible and conspicuous manner each element of information required to be disclosed by Section 4 (b) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. 3. Failing to affx labels to samples, swatches or specimens of textile fiber products used to promote or effect the sale of such textile fiber products showing in words and figures plainly legible all the information required to be disclosed by Section 4 (b) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act.

B. Falsely and deceptively advertising textile fiber products by making any representations, directly or by implication, as to the fiber content of any textile fiber product in any written advertisement which is used to aid, promote or assist, directly or indirectly, in the sale or offering for sale of such tcxtie fiber product, unless the same information required to be shown on the stamp, tag, or label or other means of identification under Sections 4 (b) (1) and (2) of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act is contained in the said advertisement, in the manner and form required except that the percentages of the fibers present in the textile fiber product need not be stated. C. Failing to maintain and preserve proper records showing the fiber content of the textile fiber products manufactured by said respondents, as required by Section 6 of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and Rule 39 of the Regulations promulgated thereunder. It ;s tUTther ordel'ecl That the respondent corporation shall forthwith distribute a copy of this order to each of its operating divisions.

It is tUTther onlend 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. VE!\T-AIR LENS LABORATORIES , INC. , ET AL. 1475 1475 Complaint