[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 73 (Friday, April 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-9137]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 15, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 253

 

Request for Comments Concerning Guides for the Feather and Down 
Products Industry

agency: Federal Trade Commission.

action: Request for public comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

summary: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') is 
requesting public comments on its Guides for the Feather and Down 
Products Industry. The Commission is also requesting comments about the 
overall costs and benefits of the guides, and their overall regulatory 
and economic impact, as a part of its systematic review of all current 
Commission regulations and guides.

dates: Written comments will be accepted until June 14, 1994.

addresses: Comments should be directed to: Secretary, Federal Trade 
Commission, room H-159, Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20580. Comments about the Guides for the Feather and 
Down Products Industry should be identified as ``16 CFR part 253--
Comment.''

for further information contact: Alice Au, Attorney, Federal Trade 
Commission, New York Regional Office, 150 William Street, 13th Floor, 
New York, NY 10038, (212) 264-1210.

supplementary information: The Commission has determined, as part of 
its oversight responsibilities, to review rules and guides 
periodically. These reviews will seek information about the costs and 
benefits of the Commission's rules and guides and their regulatory and 
economic impact. The information obtained will assist the Commission in 
identifying rules and guides that warrant modification or recision.
    At this time, the Commission solicits written public comments 
concerning the Commission's Guides for the Feather and Down Products 
Industry.
    These guides, like the other industry guides issued by the 
Commission, ``are administrative interpretations of laws administered 
by the Commission for the guidance of the public in conducting its 
affairs in conformity with legal requirements. They provide the basis 
for voluntary and simultaneous abandonment of unlawful practices by 
members of industry.'' 16 CFR 1.5. Conduct inconsistent with the guides 
may result in corrective action by the Commission under applicable 
statutory provisions. The Commission promulgates industry guides ``when 
it appears to the Commission that guidance as to the legal requirements 
applicable to particular practices would be beneficial in the public 
interest and would serve to bring about more widespread and equitable 
observance of laws administered by the Commission.'' 16 CFR 1.6.
    The Guides for the Feather and Down Products Industry concern 
acceptable and unacceptable claims for advertising, labeling, and sale 
of pillows, 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 manufacturer of such products. The guides address 
the use of trade names, symbols, and depictions; the disclosure of 
filling material on labels and in advertisements; the tolerances in 
filling material; the labeling of products using crushed and damaged 
feathers; the disclosure of the use of secondhand filling material; the 
cleanliness of filling material; and the disclosure as to size of 
feather and down products.
    If the Commission elects to retain the guides after conducting this 
review, it intends to update certain terms to reflect policy changes 
that have occurred since the guides were revised in 1971. The phase 
``capacity and tendency or effect of misleading or deceiving'' in 
Secs. 253.2, 253.3, and 253.4 would be changed to conform with the 
language regarding deception that is set forth in Cliffdale Associates, 
Inc., 103 F.T.C. 110 (1984), and subsequent cases. Further, the guides 
refer to Federal Standard 148a, ``Classification, Identification, and 
Testing of Feather Filling Material,'' dated December 10, 1964, which 
was amended on September 14, 1965 and October 25, 1968. Future 
reference to Federal Standard 148a will include citation to the two 
amendments.
    Section 253.11 of the guides, relating to ``Disclosure as to 
size,'' includes an example of a proper representation of size 
description. Currently, this example is expressed in terms of inches. 
Under Executive Order 12770 of July 25, 1991, and the Metric Conversion 
Act, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act, all 
federal agencies are required to use the SI metric system of 
measurement in all procurement, grants, and other business-related 
activities (which include rulemakings), except to the extent that such 
use is impractical or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or 
loss of markets to United States firms. To comply with these 
provisions, should the Commission elect to retain the guides after 
conducting this review, the example in the guides will be altered to 
include the metric equivalent in parentheses beside the English 
measurements. Thus, the measurements in the example would be revised to 
read: ``Finished Size 21''  x  27'' (53 cm  x  68 cm) (Cut Size 2''  x  
28'' (55 cm  x  71 cm))''. This is a technical amendment to an 
illustrative example in the guides rather than a substantive amendment 
to the guides. It is not intended to create any new requirement under 
the guides to use metric or to use metric in any particular fashion 
(for example, in hundredths of centimeters).
    Accordingly, the Commission solicits public comments on the 
following questions:
    (1) Is there a continuing need for the guides?
    (a) What benefits have the guides provided to purchasers of the 
products or services affected by the guides?
    (b) Have the guides imposed costs on purchasers?
    (2) What changes, if any, should be made to the guides to increase 
the benefits of the guides to purchasers?
    (a) How would these changes affect the costs the guides impose on 
firms subject to their requirements?
    (3) What significant burdens or costs, including costs of 
adherence, have the guides imposed on firms subject to their 
requirements?
    (a) Have the guides provided benefits to such firms?
    (4) What changes, if any, should be made to the guides to reduce 
the burden or costs imposed on firms subject to their requirements?
    (a) How would these changes affect the benefits provided by the 
guides?
    (5) Do the guides overlap or conflict with other federal, state, or 
local laws or regulations?
    (6) Since the guides were issued, what effects, if any, have 
changes in relevant technology or economic conditions had on the 
guides?
    (7) Is there a continuing need for Sec. 253.4 ``Misuse of the term 
`Tan-O-Quil-QM'''?
    (8) Are changes needed and appropriate for Sec. 253.6 ``Tolerances 
in filling material''? Explain why there should or should not be 
changes to the current tolerances.
    (9) Are there testing methods that are viable alternatives to the 
testing methods in Federal Standard 148a, ``Classification, 
Identification, and Testing of Feather Filling Material''? Should the 
current testing methods be changed?

List of Subjects in 16 CFR 253

    Advertising, Labeling, Filling Material, Trade Practices.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41-58.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-9137 Filed 4-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M