The Federal Trade Commission today sued Electrowarmth Products, LLC and its owner, Daniel W. Grindle, alleging that they deceptively claimed the heated fabric mattress pads they sell for truck bunks were made in the USA. The FTC charged Grindle and Electrowarmth with violating the Textile Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The agency’s proposed order would stop Grindle and Electrowarmth from deceptively claiming that products were Made in USA, when in fact they were made in China.

“America’s hardworking truckers shouldn’t have to maneuver around marketers preying on their patriotism,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Electrowarmth’s false claims that its goods were made in the USA can also harm competitors who tell the truth about product origin.”

Based in Ohio, Grindle and Electrowarmth sell mattress pads of varying sizes, with wires and thermostats that provide heat. According to the complaint, before 2019, Electrowarmth used U.S.-made textiles for mattress pads intended for use in truck bunks. But then in a cost-cutting move, Grindle and Electrowarmth decided to move production to China and stop using U.S.-made textiles, while continuing to market their heated trunk bunk mattress pads as “Made in USA,” “Made in the USA since 1939,” and “made-in-America products.”

The complaint alleges that Grindle instructed the Chinese manufacturer to make and package Electrowarmth’s products “exactly the same” as they were when previously...

Read Full Story: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/08/ftc-sues-heated-m...