FTC Orders Wacoal To Pay $1.3 Million Fine

Wacoal must pay a fine of $1.3 million, and Norm Thompson Outfitters a fine of $230,000, to settle “Federal Trade Commission charges that slimming claims for their caffeine-infused products were false and not substantiated by scientific evidence” according to the agency.

“The proposed orders settling the FTC’s complaints bar Norm Thompson Outfitters, Inc., and Wacoal America, Inc., from making false and unsubstantiated claims about their shapewear,” the commission stated on its website. It added that the fines can be used by the FTC “to provide refunds to consumers who bought the caffeinated shapewear.”

“Caffeine-infused shapewear is the latest ‘weight-loss’ brew concocted by marketers,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in the statement on the agency’s site. “If someone says you can lose weight by wearing the clothes they are selling, steer clear. The best approach is tried and true: diet and exercise.”

According to the agency, “The FTC’s complaint against Norm Thompson Outfitters alleges the company deceptively advertised, marketed, and sold women’s undergarments infused with microencapsulated caffeine, retinol, and other ingredients, claiming the “shapewear” would slim and reshape the wearer’s body and reduce cellulite. The products, made with Lytess brand fabrics, were sold via mail order and on the company’s Norm Thompson Outfitters, Sahalie, Body Solutions, and Body*Belle websites.”

“Specifically, the FTC alleges that the company made claims that wearing its shapewear would eliminate or substantially reduce cellulite; reduce the wearer’s hip measurements by up to two inches and their thigh measurements by one inch; and reduce thigh and hip measurements “without any effort.” The complaint alleges that these claims are not true or substantiated by scientific evidence, and therefore violate the FTC Act.”

The statement continued, noting that “The complaint against Wacoal America contains similar allegations. It charges that the company’s iPants supposedly slimmed the body and reduced cellulite. Specifically, the company made false and unsubstantiated claims that wearing iPants would: substantially reduce cellulite; cause a substantial reduction in the wearer’s thigh measurements; and destroy fat cells, resulting in substantial slimming. The complaint alleges that these claims are not true or substantiated by scientific evidence, and therefore also violate the FTC Act.”

“The proposed administrative consent orders settling the charges against Norm Thompson Outfitters and Wacoal America ban the companies from claiming that any garment that contains any drug or cosmetic causes substantial weight or fat loss or a substantial reduction in body size. In addition, the companies are prohibited from making claims that any drug or cosmetic reduces or eliminates cellulite or reduces body fat, unless they are not misleading and can be substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.”