[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46950-46952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18611]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 122 3129]
Ecobaby Organics, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid
Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to
Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft
complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent
agreement--that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 26, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ecobabyorganicsconsent online or on
[[Page 46951]]
paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Ecobaby Organics,
File No. 122 3129'' on your comment and file your comment online at
https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ecobabyorganicsconsent by
following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file
your comment on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113
(Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin Moore (202-326-2167), FTC,
Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
from the FTC Home Page (for July 25, 2013), on the World Wide Web, at
http://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper copy can be obtained from
the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-2222.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before August 26, 2013.
Write ``Ecobaby Organics, File No. 122 3129'' on your comment. Your
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable,
on the public Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to
remove individuals' home contact information from comments before
placing them on the Commission Web site.
Because your comment will be made public, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number,
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any
sensitive health information, like medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information
which . . . is privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In particular, the written request for confidential
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ecobabyorganicsconsent by following the instructions on the web-
based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home. you also may file a comment through that Web site.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Ecobaby Organics, File
No. 122 3129'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver
it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the
Commission by courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that
it receives on or before August 26, 2013. You can find more
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in
the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has
accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing a consent
order from Ecobaby Organics, Inc., a corporation (``respondent'').
The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for
thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons.
Comments received during this period will become part of the public
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the
agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should
withdraw from the agreement or make final the agreement's proposed
order.
This matter involves respondent's marketing and sale of natural
latex mattresses. According to the FTC's complaint, respondent makes
three types of claims about these mattresses. First, respondent claims
that its mattresses are certified by the National Association of
Organic Mattress Industry (``NAOMI''), an independent third-party
certifier with appropriate expertise in evaluating whether respondent's
mattresses meet objective standards. However, the complaint alleges
that NAOMI is an alter ego of respondent and not an independent third-
party certifier and, indeed, awarded its seal to its own products
without applying objective standards. Accordingly, the complaint
alleges that such representations are deceptive practices in violation
of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act.
Second, respondent represents that its mattresses are chemical-
free; Formaldehyde-free; free of VOCs, such as Toluene and Benzene; and
without toxic substances. The complaint alleges that respondent did not
possess and rely upon a reasonable basis substantiating these
representations when it made them. Thus, the complaint alleges that
respondent engaged in deceptive practices in violation of Section 5(a)
of the FTC Act.
Third, respondent claims that tests show that its mattresses are
VOC-free, chemical-free, and Formaldehyde-free. The complaint alleges
that tests do not support these claims. Thus, the
[[Page 46952]]
complaint alleges that respondent engaged in deceptive acts or
practices in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act.
The proposed consent order contains four provisions designed to
prevent respondent from engaging in similar acts and practices in the
future. Part I addresses the marketing of VOC-free and chemical free
mattresses. It prohibits respondent from making zero-VOC claims unless
the VOC emission level is zero micrograms per meter cubed or the
company possesses and relies upon competent and reliable scientific
evidence that their mattresses contain no more than a trace level of
VOCs based on the Green Guides' guidance on making free-of claims.\2\
It also prohibits respondent from making chemical-free claims.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, 77
FR 62, 122, 62,123 (Oct. 11, 2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part II addresses VOC claims, non-toxic claims, environmental
benefit or attribute claims, and certain health claims made about
mattresses. It prohibits such representations unless the representation
is true, not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable
scientific evidence.
Part III addresses representations about third-party
certifications. It prohibits any misrepresentations about the degree to
which an independent third-party certifier has evaluated respondents
mattresses based on environmental or health attributes, or evaluated
those attributes based on the application of objective standards.
Part IV addresses claims that testing supports respondents'
advertising claims for its mattresses. It prohibits any
misrepresentations about the existence, contents, validity, results,
conclusion, or interpretations of any test, study, or research.
Parts V through VIII require Ecobaby to: keep copies of
advertisements and materials relied upon in disseminating any
representation covered by the order; provide copies of the order to
certain personnel, agents, and representatives having supervisory
responsibilities with respect to the subject matter of the order;
notify the Commission of changes in its structure that might affect
compliance obligations under the order; and file a compliance report
with the Commission and respond to other requests from FTC staff. Part
IX provides that the order will terminate after twenty (20) years, with
certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the complaint or the proposed order, or to modify the
proposed order's terms in any way.
By direction of the Commission.
Richard C. Donohue,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-18611 Filed 8-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P