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The Problem:
You walk into a bridal shop, and there it is: The Dress. You try it on, and it looks and fits the way you always knew it would.
Then you look for the tag and it’s not there. The salesperson tells you nonchalantly, “Oh, we always take them out; you can find out the manufacturer when you order.”
You’re suddenly unhappy. Perhaps you’re allergic to rayon, or you really love the look and feel of genuine silk. Perhaps it matters to you where your gown was made, because you try not to buy textiles from countries that employ sweatshop labor, or you are aware that different countries have differing standards in garment quality.
Well, you are entitled to this information. Because the United States government believes consumers have a right to know what their garments are made of, where they were made, and how to care for them, every textile product for sale in the United States of America must contain tags with:
the name of one business involved in the production and distribution of the product,
the fiber content of the product,
whether it’s domestic or imported, and
how to wash and care for it.
Certain exceptions to this law exist, but none of them covers this hypothetical bridal shop.
This particular scam is so pervasive that it has appeared in nationwide media. Well-known consumer advocates Alan and Denise Fields have written about it in both Bridal Bargains and Bridal Gown Guide.
Here’s the information you need to do something about it.
Some Details
The law that is being broken is United States Code Title 15 Sections 70b and 70c (which can be abbreviated 15 USC 70b and 70c). It is known as the “Textile Fiber Products Identification Act.” Enforcement of this law is up to the Federal Trade Commission, which knows about the problem and is actively trying to solve it.
Every manufacturer is required to put two sets of information in every garment produced. One tag must be a “care label” describing how to best launder and care for the item; this tag must be sewn in, and must never be removed from any garment for any reason. The other tag may be sewn-in or a conspicuous hang-tag, and per section 70b must contain:
The name of one link in the production chain. This may be the manufacturer, the retail store, or any other company involved in the distribution of the gown. Any of these may be identified by name or by the Registered Identification Number which the company must file with the FTC.
The product’s fiber content.
The country or countries of manufacture.
There are certain exceptions in the law for garments for which sewing in a tag is fairly awkward (socks, for example) but bridal gowns and other dresses most definitely must have tags.
Per section 70c, these tags cannot be removed by someone selling the garment retail with one important exception (section 70c, (b)). If the company selling the gown removes a tag with some or all of the legally required information on it, the company must put in a new tag containing exactly the same information required by law, but including also the name (or Registered Identification Number) of the company making the tag substitution. The stores are also required to keep records relating to any tags they remove. The care tag, as I said, may not be removed under any circumstances.
The dodge “Well, we’re not selling this exact gown; the gown you receive will have a tag!” is also unacceptable, according to the FTC’s own interpretation of these laws. Part 303 of the FTC’s trade regulation rules, “Rules and Regulations under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act,” states that samples used to sell textiles must be correctly labeled. So does the FTC’s publication specifically dealing with wedding gowns.
Ironically, bridal shops can get away with not having a tag with the legally required information on the dress you receive, assuming that your dress is a custom order. This is only possible, however, when the sample in the shop is correctly labeled! (An invoice with the information required by law must be included with your custom-made dress.)
However, the practice (reported by many brides-to-be) of salons substituting a tag which contains nothing but a number referring to the salon’s own arcane filing system is quite illegal. Be careful not to confuse this with the permitted practice of using Registered Identification Numbers of companies rather than their names. If this is what the salon decides to do, the salon is within the law as long as they have also included fiber content information on the tag. (If you really wanted to make an issue of this, you could ask the salon about the records it must keep about the tags it took out. I think this is too nitpicky to bother with, however. If the practice bothers you that much, it’s probably best to shop elsewhere.)
Section 70i of Title 15 provides for penalties of up to a year in prison or a $5,000 fine for breaking the textile identification laws. The FTC has stated that it can seek penalties of up to $11,000 per violation against manufacturers or distributors who rip out care labels, but NOT against salons that do so. The FTC can order a salon to stop breaking the law; violation of such an FTC “administrative order” can lead to very harsh penalties.
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