E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSWhen you buy sheets, blankets or clothing made from “eco-friendly bamboo” you assume you’re getting what’s on the label – not fabric woven from rayon. But the Federal Trade Commission claims four national retailers did just that, even after they were warned to stop.
Last week, Amazon.com, Macy’s, Sears and Leon Max (which does business as Max Studio), agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $1.26 million to settle federal charges that they labeled and advertised textile products made of bamboo fibers that were actually rayon.
“When attempting to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, companies need to ensure they don’t cross the line into misleading labeling and advertising,” said Charles Harwood, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If a textile is made of rayon, sellers need to say that, even if bamboo was used somewhere along the line in the production process.”
The varying penalty amounts, Sears and its Kmart subsidiaries ($475,000), Amazon ($455,000), Macy’s ($250,000), and Leon Max ($80,000), were based on the amount of items sold as well as how long the companies continued to sell mislabeled products after being warned to stop by the FTC in early 2010.
The four companies did not admit doing anything wrong. But under the settlement agreement they’ll be required to ensure that the labels and ads for the bamboo textiles they sell from now on accurately indicate their fiber content. The FTC will monitor the firms to make sure this is done.
“We cooperated with the FTC in reaching this settlement in lieu of pursuing further litigation,” said Howard Riefs, a spokesperson for Sears Holdings Corp. in a statement to NBCNews.com. “We continue to take these regulations seriously.”
Amazon.com, Macy’s and Leon Max did not respond to our request for a comment.
The misconception about bamboo fiber
Fabric made from bamboo may not be as “green” as you think.
“There is no reason to go out of your way to buy bamboo fibers,” said Linda Greer, director of the Clean by Design program at the National Resources Defense Council. “While bamboo is environmentally friendly, it takes a lot of chemical processing to create those fibers. This undermines the redeeming natural qualities of bamboo.”
The FTC’s fact sheet on ‘Bamboo’ fabrics explains that there is “no evidence” to back up claims that rayon made from bamboo retains the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant. Even when bamboo is used to create the rayon, “no traits of the original plant are left in the finished product.”
More Information:
Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.
Leave a Comment:
First
say what, it was not bamboo, how do I get my money back
Imagine this happening in America!
FTC: stop doing it
Corp: OK
FTC: we told you to stop doing it
Corp: but there is so much money in fooling people
FTC: OK but we will fine you
Corp: that's fine, I have the money in my front pocket, by the way did you hear about our new product? Clothes eco friendly made from the sun's rays, they go on sale tomorrow.
Why not deregulate the textile industry and let them do what they want (sarcasm)? Even though this is a relatively small infraction, they were caught and are being held somewhat accountable with a slap on the wrist. For those who think businesses and industry should not be regulated, here is another reason why it should have rules, regulations and penalties.
Another made in China scam. And the stupid Americans keep buying from these crooks.
There is so much of this going on that big corporations must figure in the fines as just part of "doing business". Look at the fines the banks "agree" to pay. Agree to pay a fine? Can I get that deal on my next traffic ticket?
If you're a mom & pop operation they will fine you into oblivion. If you're in the billionaires club, it's not even a hard slap on the wrist.
Welcome to America!
Wow - more perfectly ethical businesses doing whatever it takes to make a buck. Imagine what they'd get by with if there were no regulatory agencies. Baby formula, anyone?
Bamboo sheets don't sound that soft to me. They would have never gotten my money.
I always thought there was something fishy about bamboo textile products. I have to assume that most people buying these products have had very little contact with real bamboo, because there's nothing about a bamboo plant that would make for a good textile.
Actually, you're wrong. We have bamboo sheets and towels from a store/company called Cariloha and we bought them specifically for their texture which is much smoother than high thread count cotton. Cariloha has alot of stores in the Caribbean and markets their fabric products as being at least 3 degrees cooler than cotton - and I can attest that in the summer it's much cooler to sleep on the bamboo sheets than on cotton. I can see how rayon could get passed off as bamboo as they do have the same feel, but bamboo fabric has both a strength and elasticity to it than rayon never could.
I'm confused because my 100% bamboo sheets are identified as rayon. Despite that, I agree with Zivo24, above . These sheets are very smooth and soft as well as absorbent. Are they worth the hefty pricetag? Not to me, which is why I only buy them as cosmetic irregulars or otherwise deeply discounted.
i bought my bamboo sheets from sleepbamboo dot com. they are cooler, smoother, finer than any other sheet i have ever owned. they are well worth the extra cost. it does say rayon on them but it's a process and you can say what you want, there is a difference.
loved mine so much, bought full sets for all my son's as well. don't regret it one bit.
bamboo has a different feel about it and there is no mistaking it. i also use bamboo charcoal soap and you just wouldn't believe what a difference there is in that compared to "soap".
i did not buy these sheets to be eco friendly. i bought them for the feel and comfort.
This is another example of how "green" products are anything but. People think they are helping the environment just because it says "green". Why would planting, growing, and harversting bamboo be any more ecologically friendly than cotton?
People mean well I suppose, but they are intellectually lazy and just buy crap like this to make them feel a little less guilty...
Tim,
Bamboo, which is a grass, grows at a far faster rate using less water and far less fertilizer than cotton. That is the concept of bamboo being eco friendly. Yes the chemical processing takes away from it in the instance of clothing. In the case of hard wood floors, bamboo has a much smaller carbon footprint and regrows way faster than traditional hardwoods theoretically resulting in a more environmentally conscious choice.
Products like this do one thing only: make the companies that produce them scads of money marketing to people who want to feel good about themselves. They'll wear so-called green bamboo fabric while drinking water from a throw-away bottle and driving a gas-guzzling SUV back and forth between their over-sized houses with chemically treated lawns and their superfluous errands.
I've seen a number of bamboo products in stores but still haven't wanted to buy any. The main reason is because back in the 70s bamboo was trendy and everything made from it fell apart in short order (fabric, no doubt, would be a different matter). One day I was shopping for a new wood cutting board. My choices were bamboo that came from China or oak that was grown in North America. Yes, it took that oak tree a long time to grow but the bamboo cutting board looked like it would fall apart within a year and I know that by the time I die I will have used that oak cutting board for years and years and it will be passed along to someone else who will use it for even more years. So the oak cutting board will save me a lot of money and is ultimately more eco-friendly than its bamboo counter-part because while it took longer to grow it will last much longer AND it didn't have to be shipped halfway around the world to get here.
Uki - According to Ecovillagegreen.com, a gren-friendly web site, cotton is more eco-friendly than bamboo. Bamboo takes 3-5 years to mature, meaning you need 3-5 times more fields to grow it in order to have a harvest every single year. Bamboo does need fertilization (and if not organic pesticide spraying) just like cotton. The rates of application aren't that different for the two crops.
Both bamboo fiber cloth and bamboo flooring use harsh chemicals and hig-energy usage processes to manufacture.
That's just the facts of the matter...
Hemp is also very eco friendly for many of the same reasons, and makes great fabric, along with myriad other products. Too bad we['re still too backward to farm it - it would be a cash crop for a lot of struggling farms.
Hemp could save the US economy if people could quit the reefer madness crap.
I have no issue with taking advantage of uninformed, ignorant hipsters. Hey Apple does it. Why not anyone else?
You mean my IPad isn't made of earth-friendly recycled apple cores? I'm feeling decidedly less smug today :(
Bahahaha. Bravo, sir.
I thought my iPod was made by the Beatles??? I've got there music on it and it's got an apple on it..
Like so many "green" products, the only green is the cabbage.
What a scam...the government should FORCE the companies to give refunds to the consumers defrauded, not TAKE IT THEMSELVES.
Again, the American consumer is @!$%#cd.
Or both? They would still have to pay fines for breaking the law.
Replace bamboo with hemp - and you could have a truly green product.
But wait! I forgot... hemp is illegal to grow & cultivate in the USA. Another useless law burped out by our ruling class masters.
They won't let you wear it because it causes obesity, gives you the munchies! It would be great for the industry, you'd have to buy new close every 6 weeks.
How is this the retailers fault? Those companies sell thousands of products, are they really supposed to inspect the content of each product? This should only be on the manufacturer/marketer of the product that labeled it bamboo in the first place.
Not after they were ordered to stop.
To stop selling a product they purchased? If the supplier wanted to change the labeling that is fine, but it shouldn't be on the retailer, besides the fact this is a big who cares type issue in the first place.
It is the seller's responsibility because THEY are the ones doing the big marketing push that broke the law with misleading claims. The content label from the manufacturer should read rayon made from bamboo fibers, not 100% bamboo or whatever %age they quote on the product label. A lot of the "bamboo" fiber products are actually coming out of Vietnam. We have yet to use any of it in our custom printing business, even though some of the manufacturers we deal with offer such products.
anaon said "besides the fact this is a big who cares type issue in the first place."
Clearly, which is why you felt the need to comment.
Mislabeling and not labeling (i.e. GMOs) are issues for people who wish to make INFORMED decisions.
You can sit there in your ignorance all you want.
Rayon is made from cellulose plant fibers. Check out the Wikipedia page for rayon (this wouldn't let me post the link).
One plant used is bamboo. Another is beech wood (sold under the brand name Modal). I don't see this as misleading labeling. As far as processing, given that bamboo is a hard wood, I would hope people realize that a lot of processing is involved in turning wood into a textile.
I've bought bamboo yarn and I was very much aware that it's essentially rayon made from bamboo. Being an informed consumer involves doing a little research.
Bamboo is a grass. It's the tallest grass in the world...
And no matter what the cellulose plant source for that base, the finished yarn is rayon, not the actual plant used, and just like cotton, polyester, wool, linen, silk, etc. should be labeled as such. As the story says, the companies were just trying to greed out on the buying public's stupidity on what is truly a "green" product. Rayon made from bamboo fibers is no more green than rayon made from beech trees, or any other cellulose plant fiber.
Uh-oh, yuppies aren't going to like this..
Some of us yuppies really don't give a $hit. Some times a nice-feeling sheet is just that. Just like my eco-friendly Prius is also a dependable car with a gas tank that doesn't require frequent filling. My xeriscaped yard is low-maintenance....
Eco-friendly my a$$. Coal produced electricity, to charge batteries made with rare-Earth elements that are extremely toxic to process. Yeah, you are green sister...
Bamboo is made from bamboo pulp and rayon is made from wood
pulp. They are both in a way organic. The biggest difference is in the
chemicals used in the process. Bamboo takes fewer chemicals than rayon. The
stores involved may have had no idea.
Both take extensive amounts of energy to convert to usable cellulose fibers. They are not energy friendly (and therefore not carbon-emission friendly).
"Let the buyer beware."
Uh, weren't they required to ensure that the labels and ads for their products were accurate before all this occured?
Well....yes....but not until they get caught and the stockholders fined.
Isn't it interesting how Corporations enjoy personhood but when they get caught doing something illegal a person seldom ends up going to jail?
No accountability.....just like our leaders.
i wonder if our spineless and incompetent prosecutors looked at home much of the false labeled merchandise was sold? they are probably proud of the 1.26 million settlement. easier than going to trial. will there be fraud charges? no, i don't think so. after all, they only cheated the american consumer. maybe they were to big to fail.
Every babmoo item I have purchased ALREADY said the fabric was bamboo based rayon!
I guess I just assumed that the public would know that it takes a lot of chemicals to make bamboo fabric. So I have never used the products because I knew it was another fake, green product that was so over priced and hyped.
I always love how companies can pay fines without admitting wrongdoing.
"No, I didn't do anything wrong, here's a few bucks to make you stop saying I did."
Rayon is made from trees isn't it?
Yup.
The scum that is China got us again.
Kind of like how using corn to make ethanol produces more CO2 than if you just used gas as fuel. Not to mention the huge amount of water needed in the distilling process. Plus you get less mpg with the ethanol in your gas so you end up burning more fuel too.
...and it ruins your engine.
Ethanol is only good for those who sell it. Period.
Yet another "scam" from the Eco-friendly mob.
i've been bamboozled!!! You all missed your awesome opportunity!!!
You've been bamboozled! You all missed a golden opportunity!
Anything and everything that we use or consume has an environmental price to pay. Often times, that environmental price is not reflected in the dollar price that we pay.
For some consumer products, we continue to pay the environmental price for a very long time, in many different ways. When that cheap piece of plastic garbage is buried in a landfill, we continue to pay the price, both environmentally and economically, for many years as we pay to maintain the land fill and all of the ensuing problems with such. And, that is not even considering the high cost of using fossil fuel to transport it around the world from the factory, to the warehouse, to the store, to the home and to the landfill.
There is a lot of fraud and misunderstanding under the banner of "green". It only takes the use of some common sense to realize whether or not a product is likely to have a large carbon footprint. Just because there is fraud, hype, and misunderstanding does not negate the importance of being environmentally aware. Nor, does it render as stupid, those who embrace the concept.
The bogus environmental and nutritional claims are all over the products that most Americans buy everyday. "Green" is the new "oat bran". Remember when oat bran was being put into everything? Let common sense prevail!
One could say coal is "green" because at one point (millions of years ago) it was plants.
The same could be said for oil.