Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million penalty for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order.

Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order.

Williams-Sonoma was charged with advertising multiple products as being “Made in USA” when they were in fact manufactured in other countries, including China. That violated a 2020 commission order requiring the San Francisco-based company to be truthful about whether its products were in fact made in the U.S.

The FTC said Friday that Williams-Sonoma has agreed to a settlement, which includes a $3.175 million civil penalty. That marks the largest-ever civil penalty seen in a “Made in USA” case, the commission said.

“Williams-Sonoma’s deception misled consumers and harmed honest American businesses,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. “Today’s record-setting civil penalty makes clear that firms committing Made-in-USA fraud will not get a free pass.”

In addition to paying the penalty, the seller of cookware and home furnishings will be required to submit annual compliance reports, the FTC said. The settlement also imposes and reinforces a number of requirements about manufacturing claims the company can make.

  • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today
    17·
    2 months ago

    It is if you consider it was exactly 7 products out of everything in the brands “Goldtouch, Rejuvenation, Pottery Barn Teen and Pottery Barn Kids brands”. They’re almost certainly losing a lot more than they profited.

    They broke the rules, they got fined, they broke the rules again, the fines went up and now they have to submit annual compliance reports. That seems good to me, if they do it again we fine them again and more every time.

    • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.eeEnglish
      41·
      2 months ago

      Who cares if it takes a bite out of the profits for those 7 items? The company did something illegal.

      • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today
        47·
        2 months ago

        If they lose money by doing an illegal, and their sole motivation is to make more money, then why would they choose to keep doing it? And, this is the second time they’ve been fined and the fine is already at a new record, plus they have to submit annual compliance reports or the next fine will be another new record.