FTC deals blow to trade’s request for ‘Made in USA’

Months after a number of trade organizations sent a request to the FTC asking for leniency on the “Made in the USA” label for recycled metals, the commission responded that all parts of a product must have originated in the country to be labeled as such.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

New York--Months after a number of trade organizations sent a request to the FTC asking for leniency on the “Made in the USA” label for recycled metals, the commission responded that all parts of a product must have originated in the country to be labeled as such.

In June, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, MJSA, Jewelers of America and the American Gem Trade Association, along with the Richline Group, sent a request to the Federal Trade Commission asking the body to allow jewelry made of metals recycled in this country to be labeled as “Made in the USA.”

The FTC’s current standard to advertise a product as such is that “all or virtually all” of the product must be made in the United States, meaning that all significant parts and processing that make the product must be of American origin. Marketers using the “Made in the USA” claim on advertising also must be able to substantiate that claim.

In their request, the trade organizations pointed out to the FTC that this can be difficult for products made of metal for a number of reasons, the first being that much of the metal used in jewelry manufacturing originally was mined in a foreign country.

Additionally, it is almost impossible to determine the origin of a metal once it has been refined or smelted.

The organizations asked the FTC to focus on products made from metal that had been recycled in this country and to allow those to be advertised as “Made in the USA,” based on the idea that upon recycling, metal begins a new life cycle with a new origin in this country regardless of where it originally was mined.

In its response issued Sept. 9, the FTC said that unless a marketer can substantiate that all components of a product, including the natural resources, originated in the U.S., it shouldn’t advertise the product as “Made in the USA,” as that would be deceiving the consumer.

The FTC cited consumer research in its response that shows that almost three out of every five Americans believe that “Made in America” means that all parts of the product, including any natural resources that it may contain, originated in the United Sates.

The research also showed that 33 percent of consumers believe that 100 percent of a product must

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originate in a country for that product to be labeled as “made” in that country.

The FTC added in its response that its staff is available to help “craft qualified claims that serve the dual purposes of conveying non-deceptive information to consumers and highlighting work done to recycle gold and other jewelry in the United States.”

The four trade associations and Richline said that they now are considering further steps, in accordance with the FTC’s response.

That response, as well as the original request, will be posted on the FTC’s website here.

Anyone with additional questions on “Made in the USA” matters can contact JVC Senior Counsel Suzan Flamm at suzan@jvclegal.org or 212-997-2002.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.