[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56692-56696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19318]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520). The FTC is seeking public comments on its proposal to 
extend through December 31, 2008 the current PRA clearances for 
information collection requirements contained in four product labeling 
rules enforced by the Commission. Those clearances expire on December 
31, 2005.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 28, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``Apparel Rules: FTC File No. P948404'' to 
facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form 
should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope and 
should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, 
Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20580. Because paper mail in the Washington area and at the Commission 
is subject to delay, please consider submitting your comments in 
electronic form, (in ASCII format, WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as 
part of or as an attachment to e-mail messages directed to the 
following e-mail box: [email protected]. However, if the comment 
contains any material for which confidential treatment is requested, it 
must be filed in paper form, and the first page of the document must be 
clearly labeled ``Confidential.'' \1\
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    \1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be 
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be 
considered by the Commission and will be available to

[[Page 56693]]

the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent practicable, at 
www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to 
remove home contact information for individuals from the public 
comments it receives before placing those comments on the FTC Web site. 
More information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, 
may be found in the FTC's privacy policy at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/
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privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the proposed information requirements should be addressed as 
follows:
    For the Fur Act Regulations, Wool Act Regulations, and Textile Act 
Regulations, contact Carol Jennings, Attorney, Enforcement Division, 
Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 
DC 20580, (202) 326-2996.
    For the Care Labeling Rule, contact Connie Vecellio, Attorney, 
Enforcement Division, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2996.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests or 
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, 
or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3), 5 CFR 
1320.3(C). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is 
providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting that 
OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for the regulations noted 
herein.
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses. All comments should be filed as prescribed in 
the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or before November 
28, 2005.
    Staff's burden estimates for the four rules in question are based 
on data from the Bureau of Census, U.S. Customs and International Trade 
Commission, the Department of Labor, and data or other input from 
industry sources. The relevant information collection requirements 
within these rules and corresponding burden estimates follow.

1. Regulations Under the Fur Products Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. 69 et 
seq. (``Fur Act'') (OMB Control Number: 3084-0099)

    The Fur Act prohibits the misbranding and false advertising of fur 
products. The Fur Act Regulations, 16 CFR 301, establish disclosure 
requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing 
decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission in 
enforcing these regulations. The Regulations also provide a procedure 
for exemption from certain disclosure provisions under the Fur Act.
    Estimated annual hours burden: 168,000 hours, rounded to the 
nearest thousand (54,080 hours for recordkeeping + 113,633 hours for 
disclosure).
    Recordkeeping: The Regulations require that retailers, 
manufacturers, processors, and importers of furs and fur products keep 
certain records in addition to those they may keep in the ordinary 
course of business. Staff estimates that 1,300 retailers incur an 
average recordkeeping burden of about 13 hours per year (16,900 hours 
total); 115 manufacturers and fur processors combined incur an average 
recordkeeping burden of about 52 hours per year (5,980 total); and 
1,200 importers of furs and fur products incur an average recordkeeping 
burden of 26 hours per year (31,200 hours total). The combined 
recordkeeping burden for the industry is approximately 54,080 hours 
annually.
    Disclosure: Staff estimates that 1,400 respondents (100 
manufacturers + 1,300 retail sellers of fur garments) each require an 
average of 20 hours per year to determine label content (28,000 hours 
total), and an average of five hours per year to draft and order labels 
(7,000 hours total). Staff estimates that the total number of garments 
subject to the fur labeling requirements is approximately 3,000,000.\2\ 
Staff estimates that for approximately half of these garments, labels 
are attached manually, requiring approximately two minutes per garment 
for a total of 50,000 hours annually. For the remaining 1,500,000, the 
process of attaching labels is semi-automated and requires an average 
of approximately two seconds per item, for a total of 1,000 hours 
(rounded to the nearest thousand). Thus, the total burden for attaching 
labels is 51,000 hours, and the total burden for labeling garments is 
86,000 hours per year.
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    \2\ The total number of fur garments, fur-trimmed garments, and 
fur accessories is estimated to be approximately 3,500,000, based on 
International Trade Commission data. Of that number, approximately 
500,000 items are estimated to be exempt from the labeling 
requirements pursuant to 16 CFR 301.39 (items where either the cost 
of the fur trim to the manufacturer or the manufacturer's selling 
price for the finished product is less than $150 are exempt).
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    Staff estimates that the incremental burden associated with the 
Regulations' invoice disclosure requirement, beyond the time that would 
be devoted to preparing invoices in its absence, is approximately 30 
seconds per invoice.\3\ The invoice disclosure requirement applies to 
fur garments, which are generally sold individually, and fur pelts, 
which are generally sold in groups of at least 50, on average. Assuming 
invoices are prepared for sales of 3,000,000 garments and 160,000 
groups (an estimated 8 million pelts / 50) each of imported and 
domestic pelts, the invoice disclosure requirement entails an estimated 
total burden of 26,333 hours.
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    \3\ The invoice disclosure burden for PRA purposes excludes the 
time that respondents would spend for invoicing, apart from the Fur 
Act Regulations, in the ordinary course of business. See 5 CFR 
1320.3(b)(2).
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    Staff estimates that the Regulations' advertising disclosure 
requirements impose an average burden of one hour per year for each of 
the approximately 1,300 domestic fur retailers, or a total of 1,300 
hours.
    Thus, staff estimates the total disclosure burden to be 
approximately 113,633 hours (86,000 hours for labeling + 26,333 hours 
for invoices + 1,300 hours for advertising).
    Estimated annual cost burden: $2,153,000, rounded to the nearest 
thousand (solely relating to labor costs).
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    \4\ Per industry sources, most fur labeling is done in the U.S., 
and this rate is reflective of an average domestic hourly wage for 
such tasks. Conversely, attaching labels with regard to the others 
regulations discussed herein is mostly performed by foreign labor, 
as detailed in note 5.

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                          Task                              Hourly rate        Burden hours        Labor cost
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Determine label content................................             $20.00             28,000           $560,000
Draft and order labels.................................              13.00              7,000             91,000
Attach labels..........................................           \4\ 8.50             51,000            433,500
Invoice disclosures....................................              13.00             26,333            342,329
Prepare advertising disclosures........................              18.00              1,300             23,400
Recordkeeping..........................................              13.00             54,080            703,040
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    Total..............................................  .................  .................          2,153,269
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    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other 
capital costs associated with the Regulations. Because the labeling of 
fur products has been an integral part of the manufacturing process for 
decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment necessary to 
comply with the Regulations' labeling requirements. Industry sources 
indicate that much of the information required by the Fur Act and its 
implementing Regulations would be included on the product label even 
absent the regulations. Similarly, invoicing, recordkeeping, and 
advertising disclosures are tasks performed in the ordinary course of 
business so that covered firms would incur no additional capital or 
other non-labor costs as a result of the Act or the Regulations.

2. Regulations Under the Wool Products Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. 68 et 
seq. (``Wool Act'') (OMB Control Number: 3084-0100)

    The Wool Act prohibits the misbranding of wool products. The Wool 
Act Regulations, 16 CFR 300, establish disclosure requirements that 
assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions and 
recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission in enforcing the 
Regulations.
    Estimated annual hours burden: 407,000 hours, rounded to the 
nearest thousand (80,000 recordkeeping hours + 326,667 disclosure 
hours).
    Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that approximately 4,000 wool firms 
are subject to the Regulations' recordkeeping requirements. Based on an 
average annual burden of 20 hours per firm, the total recordkeeping 
burden is 80,000 hours.
    Disclosure: Approximately 8,000 wool firms, producing or importing 
about 500,000,000 wool products annually, are subject to the 
Regulations' disclosure requirements. Staff estimates the burden of 
determining label content to be 15 hours per year per respondent, or a 
total of 120,000 hours, and the burden of drafting and ordering labels 
to be 5 hours per respondent per year, or a total of 40,000 hours. 
Staff believes that the process of attaching labels is now fully 
automated and integrated into other production steps for about 40 
percent of all affected products. For the remaining 300,000,000 items 
(60 percent of 500,000,000), the process is semi-automated and requires 
an average of approximately two seconds per item, for a total of 
166,667 hours per year. Thus, the total estimated annual burden for all 
respondents is 326,667 hours. Staff believes that any additional burden 
associated with advertising disclosure requirements would be minimal 
(less than 10,000 hours) and can be subsumed within the burden 
estimates set forth above.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $4,460,000, rounded to the nearest 
thousand (solely relating to labor costs).

[[Page 56695]]



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                          Task                              Hourly rate        Burden hours        Labor cost
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Determine label content................................             $20.00            120,000         $2,400,000
Draft and order labels.................................              13.00             40,000            520,000
Attach labels..........................................           \5\ 3.00            166,667            500,001
Recordkeeping..........................................              13.00             80,000          1,040,000
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    Total..............................................  .................  .................         $4,460,001
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    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other 
capital costs associated with the Regulations. Because the labeling of 
wool products has been an integral part of the manufacturing process 
for decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment 
necessary to comply with the Regulations. Based on knowledge of the 
industry, staff believes that much of the information required by the 
Wool Act and its implementing regulations would be included on the 
product label even absent their requirements. Similarly, recordkeeping 
and advertising disclosures are tasks performed in the ordinary course 
of business so that covered firms would incur no additional capital or 
other non-labor costs as a result of the Regulations.
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    \5\ For products that are imported, this work generally is done 
in the country where they are manufactured. According to information 
compiled by an industry trade association using data from the 
International Trade Commission, the U.S. Customs Service, and the 
U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 90% of apparel and other textile 
products used in the United States is imported. With the remaining 
10% attributable to U.S. production at an approximate domestic 
hourly wage of $8.50 to attach labels, staff has calculated a 
weighted average hourly wage of $3 per hour attributable to U.S. and 
foreign labor combined. The estimated percentage of imports supplied 
by particular countries is based on trade data for 2001 compiled by 
the Office of Textiles and Apparel, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Wages in major textile 
exporting countries, factored into the above hourly wage estimate, 
were based on data published in February 2000 by the U.S. Department 
of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (See ``Wages, 
Benefits, Poverty Line, and Meeting Workers'' Needs in the Apparel 
and Footwear Industries of Selected Countries,'' Table I-2: 
``Prevailing or Average Wages in the Manufacturing Sector and in the 
Footwear and Apparel Industries in Selected Countries, Latest 
Available Year'').
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3. Regulations Under The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, 15 
U.S.C. 70 et seq. (``Textile Act'') (OMB Control Number: 3084-0101)

    The Textile Act prohibits the misbranding and false advertising of 
textile fiber products. The Textile Act Regulations, 16 CFR part 303, 
establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making 
informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that 
assist the Commission in enforcing the Regulations. The Regulations 
also contain a petition procedure for requesting the establishment of 
generic names for textile fibers.
    Estimated annual hours burden: approximately 8,011,000 hours, 
rounded to the nearest thousand (600,000 recordkeeping hours + 
7,411,111 disclosure hours).
    Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that approximately 24,000 textile 
firms are subject to the Textile Regulations' recordkeeping 
requirements. Based on an average burden of 25 hours per firm, the 
total recordkeeping burden is 600,000 hours.
    Disclosure: Approximately 32,000 textile firms, producing or 
importing about 19.9 billion textile fiber products annually, are 
subject to the Regulations' disclosure requirements.\6\ Staff estimates 
the burden of determining label content to be 20 hours per year per 
respondent, or a total of 640,000 hours and the burden of drafting and 
ordering labels to be 5 hours per respondent per year, or a total of 
160,000 hours. Staff believes that the process of attaching labels is 
now fully automated and integrated into other production steps for 
about 40 percent of all affected products. For the remaining 11.9 
billion items (60 percent of 19.9 billion), the process is semi-
automated and requires an average of approximately two seconds per 
item, for a total of 6,611,111 hours per year. Thus, the total 
estimated annual burden for all respondents is 7,411,111 hours. Staff 
believes that any additional burden associated with advertising 
disclosure requirements or the filing of generic fiber name petitions 
would be minimal (less than 10,000 hours) and can be subsumed within 
the burden estimates set forth above.
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    \6\ The apparent consumption of garments in the U.S. in 2004 was 
18.4 billion. Staff estimates that 1 billion garments are exempt 
from the Textile Act (i.e., any kind of headwear and garments made 
from something other than a textile fiber product, such as leather) 
or are subject to a special exemption for hosiery products sold in 
packages where the label information is contained on the package. 
Based on available data, staff estimates that an additional 3 
billion household textile products (non-garments, such as sheets, 
towels, blankets) were consumed. However, approximately .5 billion 
of all of these combined products (garments and non-garments) are 
subject to the Wool Products Labeling Act, not the Textile Fiber 
Products Identification Act, because they contain some amount of 
wool. Thus, the estimated net total products subject to the Textile 
Fiber Products Identification Act is 19.9 billion.
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    Estimated annual cost burden: $42,513,000, rounded to the nearest 
thousand (solely relating to labor costs).

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                          Task                              Hourly rate        Burden hours        Labor cost
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Determine label content................................             $20.00            640,000        $12,800,000
Draft and order labels.................................              13.00            160,000          2,080,000
Attach labels..........................................           \7\ 3.00          6,611,111         19,833,333
Recordkeeping..........................................              13.00            600,000          7,800,000
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    Total..............................................  .................  .................         42,513,333
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    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other 
capital costs associated with the Regulations. Because the labeling of 
textile products has been an integral part of the manufacturing process 
for decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment 
necessary to comply with the Regulations' labeling requirements. 
Industry sources indicate that much of the information required by the 
Textile Act and its implementing rules would be included on the product 
label even absent their requirements. Similarly, recordkeeping, 
invoicing, and advertising disclosures are tasks performed in the 
ordinary course of business so that covered firms would

[[Page 56696]]

incur no additional capital or other non-labor costs as a result of the 
Regulations.
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    \7\ See note 5.
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4. The Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423 (OMB Control Number: 3084-
0103)

    The Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423, requires manufacturers and 
importers to attach a permanent care label to all covered textile 
clothing in order to assist consumers in making purchase decisions and 
in determining what method to use to clean their apparel. Also, 
manufacturers and importers of piece goods used to make textile 
clothing must provide the same care information on the end of each bolt 
or roll of fabric.
    Estimated annual hours burden: 6,889,000 hours, rounded to the 
nearest thousand (solely relating to disclosure \8\).
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    \8\ The Care Labeling Rule imposes no specific recordkeeping 
requirements. Although the Rule requires manufacturers and importers 
to have reliable evidence to support the recommended care 
instructions, companies may provide as support current technical 
literature or rely on past experience.
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    Staff estimates that approximately 24,700 manufacturers or 
importers of textile apparel, producing about 17.4 billion textile 
garments annually, are subject to the Rule's disclosure requirements. 
The burden of developing proper care instructions may vary greatly 
among firms, primarily based on the number of different lines of 
textile garments introduced per year that require new or revised care 
instructions. Staff estimates the burden of determining care 
instructions to be 43 hours each year per respondent, for a cumulative 
total of 1,062,100 hours. Staff further estimates that the burden of 
drafting and ordering labels is 2 hours each year per respondent, for a 
total of 49,400 hours. Staff believes that the process of attaching 
labels is fully automated and integrated into other production steps 
for about 40 percent of the approximately 17.4 billion garments that 
are required to have care instructions on permanent labels.\9\ For the 
remaining 10.4 billion items (60 percent of 17.4 billion), the process 
is semi-automated and requires an average of approximately two seconds 
per item, for a total of 5,777,778 hours per year. Thus, the total 
estimated annual burden for all respondents is 6,889,278 hours.
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    \9\ About 1 billion of the 18.4 billion garments produced 
annually are either not covered by the Care Labeling Rule (gloves, 
hats, caps, and leather, fur, plastic, or leather garments) or are 
subject to an exemption that allows care instructions to appear on 
packaging (hosiery).
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    Estimated annual cost burden: $39,218,000, rounded to the nearest 
thousand (solely relating to labor costs).

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                          Task                              Hourly rate        Burden hours        Labor cost
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Determine care instructions............................             $20.00          1,062,100        $21,242,000
Draft and order labels.................................              13.00             49,400            642,200
Attach labels..........................................          \10\ 3.00          5,777,778         17,333,334
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    Total..............................................  .................  .................         39,217,534
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    Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other 
capital costs associated with the Rule. Because the labeling of textile 
products has been an integral part of the manufacturing process for 
decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment necessary to 
comply with the Rule's labeling requirements. Based on knowledge of the 
industry, staff believes that much of the information required by the 
Rule would be included on the product label even absent those 
requirements.
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    \10\ See note 5.

William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-19318 Filed 9-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P