Williams-Sonoma must pay almost $3.2 million for violating FTC’s ‘Made in USA’ order
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2024 (591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NEW YORK (AP) — Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order.
Williams-Sonoma was charged with advertising multiple products as being “Made in USA” when they were in fact manufactured in other countries, including China. That violated a 2020 commission order requiring the San Francisco-based company to be truthful about whether its products were in fact made in the U.S.
The FTC said Friday that Williams-Sonoma has agreed to a settlement, which includes a $3.175 million civil penalty. That marks the largest-ever civil penalty seen in a “Made in USA” case, the commission said.
“Williams-Sonoma’s deception misled consumers and harmed honest American businesses,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. “Today’s record-setting civil penalty makes clear that firms committing Made-in-USA fraud will not get a free pass.”
In addition to paying the penalty, the seller of cookware and home furnishings will be required to submit annual compliance reports, the FTC said. The settlement also imposes and reinforces a number of requirements about manufacturing claims the company can make.
Williams-Sonoma did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
In 2020, the FTC sued Williams-Sonoma on charges that the company falsely advertised several product lines as being all or almost all made in the U.S. under its Goldtouch, Rejuvenation, Pottery Barn Teen and Pottery Barn Kids brands. The company then agreed to an FTC order requiring it to stop such deceptive claims.
The complaint that resulted in this week’s settlement was filed by the Justice Department on referral from the FTC. According to the filing, the FTC found that Williams-Sonoma was advertising its PBTeen-branded mattress pads as “crafted” in the U.S. from domestic and imported materials — when they were made in China.
The FTC said it then investigated six other products that Williams-Sonoma marketed as “Made in USA” and found those claims to also be deceptive, violating the 2020 order.