Ready, willing, and label

  • By Hampton Newsome
  • January 11, 2013 - 2:30pm

Two of a kind can be a good thing in a card game, but it’s not so great when you’re filing energy data with government agencies.  For manufacturers weary of sending the same information to both the FTC and the Department of Energy, here’s some good news.  Now, energy data filers can do some one-stop shopping by submitting their required reports to a single place:  the Department of Energy’s new online database, known as the Compliance Certification Management System (CCMS).  The FTC has

Read Full Post >>

Background screening reports and the FCRA: Just saying you're not a consumer reporting agency isn't enough

  • By Tony Rodriguez and Jessica Lyon
  • January 10, 2013 - 2:00pm

You know that phrase “If it quacks like a duck. . .

Read Full Post >>

Bamboo snafu

  • By Lesley Fair
  • January 4, 2013 - 10:45am

Bamboo:  It’s not just for tiki huts anymore.  Consumers are seeing more items, especially clothing and textiles, labeled or advertised as “bamboo.”  But according to FTC lawsuits, Amazon.com, Leon Max, Macy’s, and Sears claimed that products were made of bamboo when they were really made of rayon.  In addition, some bamboo wannabes were promoted as environmentally friendly.  But manufacturing rayon — even when it’s made from bamboo — is far from a “green” proc

Read Full Post >>

FTC's settlement with Google: In brief

  • By Lesley Fair
  • January 3, 2013 - 1:01pm

Not too long ago, talking on the phone, listening to music, and playing games required three clunky pieces of equipment.  Manage that wirelessly?  Fuhgeddaboutit.  But now we can do all that — and more — with a device smaller than a chocolate bar.  That took phenomenal feats of technology.  But it also took some ground rules to make sure companies had incentives to innovate and consumers could be assured what they bought would work glitch-free with other products.  Benefiting consumers by encouraging that kind of innovation is what Read Full Post >>

FTC Endorsement Guides: Let's go to the videotape

  • By Lesley Fair
  • December 28, 2012 - 11:15am

Has it been a while since you touched base with clients about the FTC’s Endorsement Guides?  Of course, you’ve shown them the three major take-away points in black and white:

Read Full Post >>