[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11432-11434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04380]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 132 3126]


N.E.W. Plastics Corp.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid 
Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order 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 March 24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/newplasticsconsent online or on paper, 
by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``N.E.W. Plastics 
Corp.,--Consent Agreement; File No. 132 3126'' on your comment and file 
your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/newplasticsconsent 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: Elisa Jillson, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, (202-326-3001), 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 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 February 21, 2014), on the World Wide Web, 
at http://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper

[[Page 11433]]

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 March 24, 2014. 
Write ``N.E.W. Plastics Corp.,--Consent Agreement; File No. 132 3126'' 
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.
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    \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).
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    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/newplasticsconsent 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 ``N.E.W. Plastics Corp.,--
Consent Agreement; File No. 132 3126'' 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 March 24, 2014. 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 Proposed 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 N.E.W. Plastics Corp., 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 addresses allegedly deceptive green claims that 
Respondent made while promoting two brands of plastic lumber products, 
Evolve and Trimax, to retailers, independent distributors and end-use 
consumers. According to the FTC complaint, Respondent marketed (1) 
Evolve products as made from 90% or more recycled content; (2) Trimax 
products as made from mostly post-consumer recycled content; and (3) 
both Trimax and Evolve as recyclable. The complaint alleges first that 
each of these claims is false and misleading. It also alleges that 
Respondent did not possess or rely upon a reasonable basis to 
substantiate these representations. Finally, it alleges that Respondent 
provided its retailers and distributors with deceptive promotional 
materials, i.e., the means and instrumentalities to deceive consumers. 
Thus, the three-count complaint alleges that Respondent engaged in 
deceptive practices in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act.
    The proposed consent order contains several provisions designed to 
prevent Respondent from engaging in similar acts and practices in the 
future. Part I prohibits N.E.W. from making representations regarding 
the recycled content, the post-consumer recycled content, or the 
environmental benefit of any product or package unless they are true, 
not misleading, and substantiated by competent and reliable evidence. 
Part I further provides that if, in general, experts in the relevant 
scientific field would conclude it necessary, such evidence must be 
competent and reliable scientific evidence. Consistent with the Guides 
for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (``Green Guides''), 16 
CFR 260.13(b), Part I specifically requires N.E.W. to substantiate 
recycled content claims by demonstrating that such recycled content is 
composed of materials that were recovered or otherwise diverted from 
the waste stream.
    Part II prohibits N.E.W. from making an unqualified claim that any 
product or package is recyclable unless: (1) The item, excluding minor 
incidental components, can be recycled in an established recycling 
program, and (2) recycling facilities that accept the item are 
available to at least 60% of consumers or communities where it is sold. 
If recycling facilities are available to fewer than 60%, consistent 
with the Green Guides, 16 CFR 260.12(b), Part II requires N.E.W. to 
qualify its claim regarding the availability of recycling facilities. 
Part II requires such claims to be true, not misleading, and 
substantiated by competent and reliable evidence. It further provides 
that if, in general, experts in the relevant scientific field would 
conclude it necessary, such evidence must be competent and reliable 
scientific evidence. Finally, Part II provides that if Respondent 
promotes as recyclable at item that is only partially recyclable, 
Respondent must disclose the part or portion of the product or package 
that is recyclable.
    Part III prohibits N.E.W. from providing others with the means and

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instrumentalities to make any false, unsubstantiated, or otherwise 
misleading representation of material fact regarding any product or 
package.
    Part IV requires N.E.W. to deliver a letter to its distributors and 
retailers that instructs them to stop using Evolve and Trimax plastic 
lumber advertising and marketing materials provided by N.E.W. prior to 
December 2013. This requirement seeks to ensure that deceptive claims 
will be entirely removed from the market.
    Parts V through IX are reporting and compliance provisions. Part V 
requires Respondent to keep (and make available to the Commission on 
request): Copies of advertisements and promotional materials containing 
the representations covered by the order; materials relied upon in 
disseminating those representations; evidence that contradicts, 
qualifies, or calls into question the representations, or the basis 
relied upon for the representations. Part VI requires dissemination of 
the order now and in the future to principals, officers, directors, and 
managers, and to all current and future employees, agents, and 
representatives having responsibilities relating to the subject matter 
of the order. It also requires Respondent to maintain and make 
available to the FTC all acknowledgments of receipt of the order. Part 
VII requires notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status. 
Part VIII mandates that Respondent submit an initial compliance report 
to the FTC and make available to the FTC subsequent reports. Part IX is 
a provision terminating the order after twenty (20) years, with certain 
exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the 
proposed consent order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the proposed order or to modify its terms in any way.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-04380 Filed 2-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P