Guides For Labeling, Advertising, And Sale Of Wigs And Other Hairpieces
16 CFR Part 252 · Guides · in the Code of Federal Regulations 1971-1995 (24 annual editions)
Scanned CFR pages, OCR text may contain errors; the linked Library of Congress PDF is the authority. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the FTC. These rules and guides are historical: most were rescinded or replaced, so do not assume any is in force.
Latest edition: Library of Congress, 1995 CFR · Earliest edition: 1971 CFR
Text (1995 edition, OCR)
Federal Trade Commission
Payments and Services.’’ In advertis-
ing the ‘‘Free’’ promotion, the supplier
should identify those areas in which
the offer is not available if the adver-
tising is likely to be seen in such areas,
and should clearly state that it is
available only through participating .
resellers, indicating the extent of par-
ticipation by the use of such terms as
“gome”’, ‘‘all’’, “a majority’, or “a
few’’, as the case may be.
(f) Introductory offers. (1) No ‘‘Free’’
offer should be made in connection
with the introduction of a new product
or service offered for sale at a specified
price unless the offeror expects, in good
faith, to discontinue the offer after a
limited time and to commence selling
the product or service promoted, sepa-
rately, at the same price at which it
was promoted with the ‘‘Free”’ offer.
(2) In such offers, no representation
may be made that the price is for one
item and that the other is ‘‘Free”’ un-
less the offeror expects, in good faith,
to discontinue the offer after a limited
time and to commence selling the
product or service promoted, sepa-
rately, at the same price at which it
was promoted with a ‘“‘Free’’ offer.
(g) Negotiated sales. If a product or
service usually is sold at a price ar-
rived at through bargaining, rather
than at a regular price, it is improper
to represent that another product or
service is being offered ‘‘Free”’ with the
sale. The same representation is also
improper where there may be a regular
price, but where other material factors
such as quantity, quality, or size are
arrived at through bargaining.
(h) Frequency of offers. So that a
“Free” offer will be special and mean-
ingful, a single size of a product or a
single kind of service should not be ad-
vertised with a ‘‘Free”’ offer in a trade
area for more than 6 months in any 12-
month period. At least 30 days should
elapse before another such offer is pro-
moted in the same trade area. No more
than three such offers should be made
in the same area in any 12-month pe-
riod. In such period, the offeror’s sale
in that area of the product in the size
promoted with a ‘‘Free” offer should
not exceed 50 percent of the total vol-
ume of his sales of the product, in the
same size, in the area. ‘
81
§ 252.0
(i) Similar terms. Offers of ‘‘Free’’ mer-
chandise or services which may be de-
ceptive for failure to meet the provi-
sions of this section may not be cor-
rected by the substitution of such simi-
lar words and terms as “‘gift’’, “given
without charge’’, ‘“‘bonus’’, or other
words or terms. which tend to convey
the impression to the consuming public
that an article of merchandise or serv-
ice is ‘“‘Free’’.
(38 Stat. 717, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 41-58)
[86 FR 21517, Nov. 10, 1971]
PART 252—GUIDES FOR LABELING,
ADVERTISING, AND SALE OF
WIGS AND OTHER HAIRPIECES
Sec.
252.0 Definitions.
252.1 Misrepresentation (general).
252.2 Disclosure of hair composition.
252.3 Disclosure of foreign origin.
2562.4 Flammability.
252.5 Use of terms such as “‘hair’’, “natural
hair’, ‘“‘real hair’’, etc., and trade names.
252.6 Disclosure relating to used industry
products or parts thereof.
252.7 Representations as to ‘Handmade’,
etc.
252.8 Representations
made’’, etc.
252.9 Representations as to color.
252.10 Representations as to style.
252.11 Representations as to “‘virgin’’ hair.
AUTHORITY: 38 Stat. 717, as amended; 15
U.S.C. 41-58.
SOURCE: 35 FR 12718, Aug. 11, 1970, unless
otherwise noted.
EDITORIAL NOTE: See 36 FR 18078, Sept. 9,
1971, for a statement of enforcement policy.
§252.0 Definitions.
(a) Industry Member means any per-
son, firm, corporation, or organization
engaged in the manufacture, sale, or
distribution of any industry product as
defined below.
(b) Industry Product means any kind
or type of lady’s wig, wiglet, fall, chi-
gnon, or other hairpiece and any kind
or type of man’s toupee or other hair-
piece.
(c) Hair Composition means the type
of hair fiber contained in an industry
product. Hair composition may consist
of, or be a combination of, three basic
types of fiber, namely, human hair,
animal hair, and artificial hair.
as to’ “Custom-
§ 252.1
$252.1 Misrepresentation (general).
An industry product should not be la-
beled, advertised, or otherwise rep-
resented in any manner which may
have the capacity and tendency or ef-
fect of misleading or deceiving pur-
chasers or prospective purchasers con-
cerning the composition, quality, dura-
bility, construction, weight, length,
size, fit, color, set, ability to accept a
set or be reset, style, ease of styling,
maintenance, service, guarantee, ori-
gin, price, or any other feature of such
product. }
(Guide 1)
§252.2 Disclosure of hair composition.
Disclosure of hair composition of an
industry product should be made by
label attached to the product and in all
advertising relating to such product. If
the hair composition consists of mere
than one of the basic types of fiber,
e.g., human hair and artificial hair,
then the percentage of each contained
therein should be set forth on the label
attached to the product and in all ad-
vertising relating to the product.
NOTE 1: A disclosure made in accordance
with this section should be clear and con-
spicuous, and labels bearing such disclosure
should be attached to the product with suffi-
cient permanency so as to remain thereon
until sale to the ultimate purchaser.
NOTE 2: The percentage of each type of hair
fiber contained in an industry product may
be based on (1) the ratio of the weight of
each type of hair fiber to the total weight of
hair fiber in the product or (2) the ratio of
the number of hair fibers of each type to the
total number of hair fibers in the product.
Under the latter method, a representative
sample of the hair fibers contained in a prod-
uct may be used to determine the percentage
of each type of hair fiber.
NOTE 3: Disclosure of artificial hair may be
made with such terms as “simulated hair’,
“man-made hair’’, “imitation hair’, or with
terms of similar import, or with the generic
name of the material itself, or with such
other term or name as will clearly disclose
the artificial nature of the hair.
1All of the Commission’s general Guides,
including its Guides Against Deceptive Pric-
ing, Guides Against Bait Advertising, and
Guides Against. Deceptive Advertising of
Guarantees, are applicable to the practices
of this industry. Those Guides have been
codified under Title 16, Parts 233, 238, and
239, respectively, of the U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations.
82
16 CFR Ch. | (1-1-95 Edition)
[Guide 2)
$252.3 Disclosure of foreign origin.
(a) Labeling. Disclosure of foreign ori-
gin of the hair in an industry product
should be made by label attached to
the product. In the case of animal hair
or synthetic hair, the foreign country
of origin should be disclosed. In the
case of human hair, the foreign coun-
try of origin or foreign area of origin
should be disclosed. An example of ac-
ceptable labeling, assuming the prod-
uct is made entirely of human hair
from ‘‘X’’ country, would be “Human
Hair from ‘X’ country’’, or, assuming
“xX” country is European, ‘‘Human
Hair from Europe’’.
NOTE 1: A disclosure of the foreign area of
origin of the human hair in an industry prod-
uct may be made with such terms as ‘‘Euro-
pean’, “Asian”, “Oriental”, or with such
other term or name as will clearly disclose
the foreign area of origin.
NOTE 2: If the hair composition of an indus-
try product consists of hair from more than
one foreign country or area, then the per-
centages from each country or area con-
tained therein should be set forth on the
label attached to the product. For guidance
with respect to the statement of percent-
ages, see Note 2 under §252.2.
NOTE 3. A disclosure made in accordance
with this section should be clear and con-
spicuous, and labels bearing such disclosure
should be attached to the product with suffi-
cient permanency so as to remain thereon
until sale to the ultimate purchaser.
(b) Mail order advertising. The disclo-
sure of foreign country of origin or for-
eign area of origin of the hair in an in-
dustry product, indicated in the label-
ing provisions in paragraph (a) of this
section, should also be made in all mail
order advertising.
(c) Other advertising. A disclosure of
foreign country of origin or foreign
area of origin of the hair in an industry
product need not be made in other ad-
vertising unless in the absence of dis-
closure a purchaser or prospective pur-
chaser may likely be deceived. If such
advertising contains any representa-
tion, whether affirmative or implied,
concerning origin of the product, or
any part thereof, then the disclosure
indicated in the labeling provision in
paragraph (a) of this section should be
made. The following examples are set
forth as guidance to advertisers.
Federal Trade Commission
Example 1. An industry product made in
“xX” country of hair from “Y” country
should not be advertised as an “X’’ country
wig, or with terms of similar import, unless
accompanied by clear and conspicuous dis-
closure of the foreign country or area of ori-
gin of the hair, in accordance with the label-
ing provision (a) of this section.
Example 2. An industry product made in
Europe of non-European hair should not be
advertised as ‘European manufactured’’,
“Huropean processed”, “European wig’’, or
with terms of similar import, unless accom-
panied by clear and conspicuous disclosure of
the foreign country or area of origin of the
hair, in accordance with the labeling provi-
sion (a) of this section.
Example 3. Regardless of country of manu-
facture, an industry product made of non-Eu-
ropean hair should not be advertised with
such terms as “European Texture”, or with
terms of similar import which suggest that
the product contains European hair.
Exampie 4. An industry product manufac-
tured in the United States of imported hair
(““X”? country) should not be advertised as an
“American Wig” or with terms of similar im-
port, unless accompanied by clear and con-
spicuous disclosure of the foreign country or
area of origin of the hair, in accordance with
the labeling provision (a) of this section.
{Guide 3}
§252.4 Fiammability.
An industry product, which is so
highly flammable as to be dangerous
when worn by individuals, should not
be manufactured for sale, offered for
sale, sold, or distributed in the United
States, or imported into the United
States.
NOTE 1: The Commission considers indus-
try products to be subject to the require-
ments of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15
U.S.C. section 1191, as amended). The flam-
mability standard for industry products is
Commercial Standard 191-53 or other subse-
quently promulgated standard of flammabil-
ity pertaining to such products which may
be established by the Secretary of Commerce
pursuant to section 4 of the Act. Copies of
the Act and/or the Commercial Standard are
available upon request.
NOTE 2: The prohibitions of the Flammable
Fabrics Act apply to industry products
which fail the flammability standard either
before or after washing and/or drycleaning.
(Guide 4]
83
§ 252.7
§252.5 Use of terms such as “hair”,
“natural hair”, “real hair’, etc., and
trade names.
The unqualified term ‘“‘hair’’, and the
terms ‘“‘natural hair’, ‘“‘true hair’,
“genuine hair’, ‘real hair’, and terms
of similar import, as well as trade
names which have the capacity of mis-
leading a purchaser or prospective pur-
chaser into believing that an industry
product is made of human hair, should
not be used to describe an industry
product containing either animal hair
or artificial hair. [Guide 5]
§252.6 Disclosure relating to used in-
dustry products or parts thereof.
(a) An industry product which has
been previously used by a consumer on
a trial basis or otherwise, and then re-
turned, should not be offered for sale or
resale without clear and conspicuous
disclosure of such fact by label at-
tached thereto and in all advertising
relating to such product. The label dis-
closing prior use should be attached to
the product with sufficient permanency
so as to remain thereon until sale to
the ultimate purchaser.
NOTE: Sellers should maintain adequate in-
ventory control records that reflect the dis-
position of returned merchandise. Mainte-
nance of inventory control records should
enable sellers to demonstrate that returned
merchandise was not placed in inventory and
sold or resold without disclosing the fact of
its prior use.
(b) An industry product which con-
tains hair or other components sub-
jected to prior use in another industry
product should not be advertised or
otherwise offered for sale without clear
and conspicuous disclosure of such
fact. Disclosure should be made in ac-
cordance with paragraph (a) of this sec-
tion. [Guide 6]
$252.7 Representation as to “Hand-
made”, etc.
An industry product should not be
represented as ‘“‘Handmade’’, or with
terms of similar import, unless the en-
tire process of joining or stitching the
hair to the foundation is performed by
hand. [Guide 7]
§ 252.6
§252.8 Representations as to “Custom-
made”, etc.
An industry product should not be
described with such terms as ‘‘Custom-
made’’, ‘““Customized’’, ‘‘Personalized’’,
or with terms of similar import, unless
such product is to be (a) designed and
structured on the basis of actual per-
sonal measurements of the prospective
purchaser, and (b) dyed or made of a
mixture of precolored hair stock to
match a color meeting the personal re-
quirements of such purchaser. [Guide 8]
§252.9 Representations as to color.
An industry product should not be
described with such terms as ‘‘Custom-
colored’, “Exact match’’, ‘‘personal-
ized color’, or with terms of similar
import, unless the hair contained
therein is to be dyed or made of a mix-
ture of precolored hair stock to match
a color meeting the personal require-
ments of the purchaser. [Guide 9]
§ 252.10 Representations as to style.
An industry product should not be
represented in any manner, whether
through advertising text, depictions, or
otherwise, that may have the capacity
to deceive purchasers or prospective
purchasers into believing that such
product is styled or capable of being
styled, or set or capable of being set or
reset, in a certain manner, fashion or
‘hairdo’? when such is not the fact.
[Guide 10]
§252.11 Representations as to “virgin”
An industry product should not be
described as containing ‘‘virgin’’ hair,
unless the hair contained therein is
human hair and has never been
bleached, dyed or permanented. [Guide
11}
PART 253—GUIDES FOR THE FEATH-
ER AND DOWN PRODUCTS IN-
DUSTRY
Sec.
253.1 Definitions.
253.2 Misrepresentation in general.
253.3 Use of trade names, symbols, depic-
tions, etc.
253.4 Misuse of the term ‘“‘Tan-O-Quil-QM”.
253.5 Disclosure of filling material.
253.6 Tolerances in filling material.
16 CFR Ch. | (1-1-95 Edition)
253.7 Crushed feathers.
253.8 Damaged feathers.
253.9 Secondhand filling material.
253.10 Cleanliness of filling material.
253.11 Disclosure as to size.
AUTHORITY: Secs. 5, 6, 38 Stat. 719, as
amended 721; 15 U.S.C. 45, 46.
SOURCE: 36 FR 20744, Oct. 29, 1971, unless
otherwise noted.
$253.1 Definitions.
(a) Industry products. For the pur-
poses of this part the term “industry
products” means and includes all pil-
lows, cushions, comforters, sleeping
bags, wearing apparel, and similar
products which are wholly or partially
filled with feathers or down, and all
bulk stocks of processed feathers or
down intended for use or used in the
manufacture of such products.
(b) Industry members. All persons,
firms, corporations, and organizations
engaged in the processing, manufac-
ture, distribution, or marketing of any
industry product are considered to be
industry members.
(c) Filling material. Means the con-
tents of an industry product including
feathers and down of any kind or type.
(d) Down. Means the undercoating of
waterfowl, consisting of clusters of
light, fluffy filaments, i.e., barbs, grow-
ing from the quill point but without
any quill shafts.
(e) Plumules. Means downy waterfowl
plumage with under developed soft and
flaccid quill with barbs indistinguish-
able from those of down.
(f) Down fibers. Means the detached
barbs from down and plumules and the
detached barbs from the basal end of
waterfowl quill shaft which are indis-
tinguishable from the barbs of down.
(g) Feathers. Means the plumage or
out-growth forming the contour and
external covering of fowl which are
whole in structure and which have not
been processed in any manner other
than by washing, dusting, chemical
treatment, and sanitizing.
(h) Waterfowl feathers. Means feathers
derived from ducks and geese.
(i) Nonwaterfowl feathers or landfowl
feathers. Means feathers derived from
chickens, turkeys, and other landfow).
(i) Quill feathers. Means feathers
which are over 4 inches in length or