FTC Fines Instant Brands Nearly $130,000 for False 'Made in USA' Claims
Instant Brands agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its false claims that all its Pyrex-branded glass measuring cups were made in the U.S. during a time when at least some were imported from China, the FTC said in a Jan. 18 news release. The proposed order would stop the company "from making deceptive claims" and require the company to pay a monetary judgment.
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Instant Brands faced increased demand for its glass measuring cups in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FTC said in its complaint. By early 2021, Instant Brands was not able to meet the demand for certain measuring cup sets sold on Amazon with cups produced in the U.S. and added production of some Pyrex cups in China between March 2021 and May 2022. According to the complaint, the company continued to market the Chinese-made products with “Made in USA” messaging despite the cups themselves being marked with “Made in China.” Ultimately, at least 110,000 Chinese-made measuring cup sets were sold to U.S. customers with some form of “Made in USA” messaging.
Instant Brands agreed to pay a $129,416 judgment along with accepting prohibitions on unqualified U.S.-origin claims for any product, a requirement that any qualified Made in USA claims contain "clear and conspicuous" disclosures regarding foreign parts, and that "assembled in the U.S." messaging requires a final U.S. substantial transformation.
“Consumers rely on marketers to make truthful ‘Made in USA’ claims,” said Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If marketers move their manufacturing outside the United States, even temporarily, they must update their advertising to make it accurate.”