In this photo taken on Oct. 19, 2012, Australian Brian Tan, right, a “blue diamond” sales executive of Nu Skin, a multilevel marketing company, speaks during a presentation to economic students to expand and recruit distributors for his sales system at Nu Skin's office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Nu Skin, which has stormed through Asia over the last two decades, racked up huge profits despite regulatory scrutiny over its marketing practices and the efficacy of the products that it sells. Multilevel marketing businesses have a strained history in China and Vietnam, whose Communist rulers have been wary of pyramid-based sales schemes that have been characterized by some as preying on the dreams of poor citizens. They also fear that unrest as a result of associated scams from the schemes could challenge their legitimacy. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

Trio of retailers to settle FTC "faux" fur charges

Published: 03:49:12 PM, Tue 19 March 2013 UTC

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FTC said Tuesday that Neiman Marcus and two other retailers have agreed to settle charges that they claimed certain products were made of "faux" fur when they actually contained real fur.

In addition to the upscale department store operator, the retailers include DrJays.com Inc. and Eminent Inc., doing business as Revolve Clothing.

The Federal Trade Commission said the companies also violated federal laws by not naming the animal that the fur came from.

The FTC also charged that The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. claimed that a rabbit fur product had mink fur, and failed to disclose where the fur came from for three fur products.

The Neiman Marcus violations involved website claims related to a Burberry Outerwear jacket, a Stuart Weitzman ballerina flat shoe and an Alice + Olivia Kyah coat. Neiman Marcus also misrepresented the fur content of the shoe in its catalog, at bergdorfgoodman.com, and in advertisements mailed to consumers, the FTC said.

The FTC said DrJays.com misrepresented the fur content and failed to disclose the animal name for a snorkel jacket by Crown Holder with a fur-lined hood, a vest by Knoles & Carter with exterior fur and a New York subway leather bomber jacket by United Face with fur lining.

Meanwhile, Eminent, doing business as Revolve, misrepresented the fur content and failed to disclose the animal name for four products including fur-trimmed boots, a Mark Jacobs Runway roebling coat, a Dakota Xan fur poncho and an Eryn Brinie belted faux fur vest, the FTC said.

Under the proposed settlement, the retailers would be prohibited from violating the laws for 20 years.

The commission approved the consent order for public comment with a 4-0 vote. The deals remain subject to public comment for 30 days, after which the commission will decide whether to make them final.

Tags: ap, federal trade commission, neiman marcus group, neiman marcus, ftc, tuesday, trio, companies, department store, business, washington, leather bomber jacket, retailers, animal, public comment, subway, federal laws, fur, consent order, certain products, catalog, upscale department store, 4-0 vote, fur content, faux fur vest, rabbit fur product, xan fur poncho, fur charges, real fur, mink fur, fur products, exterior fur, fur lining, neiman marcus violations, burberry outerwear jacket, stuart weitzman ballerina, olivia kyah coat, mark jacobs runway, revolve clothing, snorkel jacket, eminent inc., fur-lined hood, drjays.com inc., flat shoe, eryn brinie, website claims, crown holder, fur-trimmed boots, united face, bergdorfgoodman.com, knoles

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