On December 9, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission, while addressing the complaints received against BackCountry.com LLC, Bed Bath & Beyond, J.C. Penney and Nordstrom, proposed court orders barring them from mislabelling and advertising rayon textiles as made of bamboo. FTC also directed them to pay civil penalties totalling $1.3 million. The agency also sent letters to other unspecified retailers, asking them to help protect consumers from deceptive bamboo claims by checking inventories and making certain that rayon textile products have appropriate labelling.

The FTC has been long fighting companies who textiles containing rayon continue to label as bamboo or as containing bamboo fibre, to market their products as sustainable, eco-friendly, or naturally antimicrobial. FTC points out that this is misleading since most textiles labelled as bamboo are rayon, which is a type of fibre manufactured from cellulose, typically made using environmentally toxic chemicals in a process that emits hazardous pollutants into the air. While different plants, including bamboo, can be used as a source material to create rayon, there is no trace of the original plant in the finished rayon product.

In 2009, the agency settled bamboo-related complaints against four apparel and textile companies. False claims included that products made with rayon from bamboo contained 100 per cent bamboo fibre, were more eco-friendly than comparable goods, and retained the bamboo plant’s inherent antimicrobial properties. That same year, the FTC issued guidance for manufacturers and retailers of clothing, linens, or other textile products, titled “How to Avoid Bamboozling Your Customers.” The agency advised, “If your product isn’t made directly from bamboo fibre, it can’t be called bamboo,” but must be described as either rayon (or viscose), or “rayon made from bamboo.”

www.ftc.gov