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Dive Brief:

• The Federal Trade Commission is sending $140,000 in refunds to more than 4,000 consumers deceived by false “Made in USA” claims from three New England clothing manufacturers.
• The FTC took action against the companies — Chaucer Accessories, Bates Accessories and Bates Retail Group — and their collective owner, Thomas Bates, in June 2023, for falsely marketing products such as bags, belts, wallets and shoes as U.S.-made, despite using imported goods or components.
• The complaint requires the accessories makers to pay more than $191,000 to the FTC and adhere to strict guidelines on “Made-in-USA” claims, including more transparency around a product’s manufacturing and assembly.

Dive Insight:

FTC investigators found that the brands, based in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, made deceptive claims about where their products were made. A number of the accessories were wholly imported or used significant imported components from countries like Taiwan, according to the complaint.

The three jointly-owned companies share manufacturing operations in Haverhill, Massachusetts, according to their websites. Chaucer Accessories, Bates Accessories and Bates Retail Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FTC started cracking down on “Made in USA” labels after it fined Williams Sonoma nearly $3.2 million in 2020, the largest fine in history of its kind. The company was cited for falsely labeling imported goods as U.S.-made, including...

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