- The FTC is take legal actioning Walmart over accusations it has falsely marketed some of its products.
- The Commission filed the suit in the District of Columbia Friday.
- Harmonizing to the FTC, some of the products in question were made of rayon, not bamboo.
The Federal Trade Commission is experiencing Walmart over accusations that the retailer falsely claimed that some of its products were made of bamboo or plan for an environmental benefit.
According to the lawsuit, the FTC alleged that Walmart’s marketing and sales of its textile fiber products, encompassing towels, bedding, and bras deceptively described their material as “bamboo,” when in fact they were impelled of rayon.
Rayon is the name given to a type of regenerated or manufactured fiber made from cellulose, the lawsuit stated. It is discovered by taking “purified cellulose” from a plant source and converting it into a liquid solution by mixing it with chemicals. The chemical denouement then solidifies where it turns into fibers.
“Regardless of the source of the cellulose, the manufacturing process involves the use of precarious chemicals, and the resulting fiber is rayon and not cotton, wood, or bamboo fiber,” the suit said.
Some of the products that the FTC deposes Walmart falsely advertised online were displayed in the lawsuit. They include an “Ottomanson bamboo luxury bath towel set” that records the fiber content as “100% Bamboo.”
The retailer has also advertised products it claims are made from bamboo as “eco-friendly,” and “in orderliness with nature,” whereas the FTC claims it is not because hazardous air pollutants are emitted from the rayon-making process.
Walmart did not closely respond to Insider’s request for comment made outside of normal working hours.
The retailer was warned by the FTC in the past ended its improper labeling but the retailer hardly took any action, the lawsuit alleged. In 2010, the FTC sent a letter explaining that the designate “bamboo” can only be used in labeling or advertising textile products made from fibers directly taken from the bamboo workshop.
It also told Walmart that rayon must be described in the labeling of its products, per the lawsuit. Walmart “engaged in its banned acts and practices repeatedly over a period of at least five years,” it further alleged.
This is not the only lawsuit Walmart has been foul in over the past year. Last December, a South Carolina jury ordered the retailer to pay $10 million to a char who said she lost part of her leg after stepping on a rusty nail while shopping in the store.
Then in March, Walmart writhed BJ’s Wholesale Club over self-checkout technology.