[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17032-17034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-8189]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR PART 248
Request for Comments Concerning Guides for the Beauty and Barber
Equipment and Supplies Industry
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') requests
public comments on its Guides for the Beauty and Barber Equipment and
Supplies Industry. The Commission is also requesting comments about the
overall costs and benefits of the Guides for the Beauty and Barber
Equipment and Supplies Industry 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 5, 1995.
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 Beauty and
[[Page 17033]] Barber Equipment and Supplies Industry should be
identified as ``16 CFR Part 248--Comment.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas J. Goglia, Attorney, Federal
Trade Commission, New York Regional Office, 150 William Street, 13th
Floor, New York, NY 10038, (212) 264-1229.
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 recission.
At this time, the Commission solicits written public comments
concerning the Commission's Guides for the Beauty and Barber Equipment
and Supplies Industry (the ``Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides,'' or the
``Guides'').
The Beauty/Barber Supplies 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 Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides may result in
corrective action by the Commission under applicable statutory
provisions. The Commission may decide to promulgate an industry guide
``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 Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides designate as unacceptable certain
advertising and trade practices relating to the sale of products used
by, and/or marketed through, ``Industry Members'' (as defined in
Sec. 248.0 of the Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides) such as barber shops,
barber schools, beauty parlors, beauty salons, and beauty clinics. Such
products embrace a wide range of beauty and barber preparations, as
well as articles or items of equipment, furnishings, and supplies for
such establishments. The Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides include, among
other things, guidance about the use of trade names, symbols, and
depictions; the defamation of competitors or the false disparagement of
their products; false invoicing; push money; advertising or promotional
allowances, or services or facilities; commercial bribery; enticing
away employees of competitors; inducing breach of contract; exclusive
dealing arrangements; and price discrimination.
The Commission believes that certain sections of the Beauty/Barber
Supplies Guides may not be so specific to the beauty and barber
industry that they are warranted in light of general guidance available
elsewhere. For example, the statement on discriminatory pricing may be
in large part needlessly duplicative of sections (a) and (f) of the
Robinson-Patman Act, and the statement on discriminatory promotional
allowances and services may be duplicative of the so-called Fred Meyer
Guides, which interpret sections (d) and (e) of the Robinson-Patman Act
and section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. See Guides for
Advertising Allowances and Other Merchandising Payments and Services,
16 CFR part 240. Similarly, other sections of the Beauty/Barber
Supplies Guides describe general principles derived from the antitrust
laws and consumer protection laws enforced by the Commission, but in
ways that may not be especially specific to the beauty and barber
equipment industry.
If the Commission elects to retain the Beauty/Barber Supplies
Guides after conducting this review, it intends to update certain terms
to reflect policy changes that have occurred since the Beauty/Barber
Supplies Guides were last revised in 1968. The phrase ``capacity and
tendency or effect of misleading or deceiving,'' in Secs. 248.1, 248.5,
and 248.6, may 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.
The Commission also may provide updated notations to other
Commission guides which supplement the Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides.
Specifically, a notation may be appended after Sec. 248.0 to advise
that certain ``Industry Members,'' such as beauty schools, beauty
clinics, and barber schools, may refer to the Commission's Guides for
Private Vocational and Home Study Schools, 16 CFR part 254, for
additional guidance. A notation may be inserted following Sec. 248.14
of the Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides to indicate that the Commission's
Guides for Advertising Allowances and Other Merchandising Payments and
Services, 16 CFR part 240, furnish detailed guidance regarding
advertising or promotional allowances, or services or facilities, and
should be considered as supplementing Sec. 248.14.
In addition, the Beauty/Barber Supplies Guides currently include,
in footnote 1 to Sec. 248.1, a notation to the Commission's Guides
Against Deceptive Advertising of Guarantees, 16 CFR part 239. A second
notation following Sec. 248.4 of the Guides refers to the Commission's
Guides Against Deceptive Pricing, 16 CFR part 233. These notations may
be modified so that the language contained therein will be consistent.
Accordingly, the Commission solicits public comments on the
following questions:
1. Is there a continuing need for the Beauty/Barber Supplies
Guides/
a. Do members of the beauty and barber equipment and supplies
industry require these industry-specific guides for information about
applicable legal standards, or can equally helpful guidance be obtained
from more general sources such as the Fred Meyer guides, 16 CFR part
240?
b. What benefits have the Guides provided to purchasers of the
products or services affected by the Guides?
c. Have the Guides imposed costs on purchasers?
d. Do the Guides continue to address practices which are of concern
to members of the beauty and barber equipment and supplies industry?
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
burdens 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?
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41-58.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 248
Advertising, Trade practices, Deceptive pricing, Price
discrimination, Promotional allowances.
[[Page 17034]] By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-8189 Filed 4-3-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M