Competition Bureau
ToolsRelated topicsResourcesGuide to the Advertising of Consumer Textile ArticlesTable of Contents
1. IntroductionTable of Contents | Next Section This guide provides an outline of the advertising requirements for consumer textile articles subject to the Textile Labelling Act and the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations. This information should be read in conjunction with the appropriate sections of the Act and the Regulations which will, of course, govern. Copies of the Textile Labelling Act and the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations may be obtained, for a fee, from the following address:
All cheques or money orders must be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada. 1.1 Objectives of the Textile Labelling Act and the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations
1.2 Effective Date of RegulationsWhile Section 5 of the Textile Labelling Act dealing with false or misleading representations has been in effect since December 13, 1971, the Textile Labelling Act, in its entirety, and the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations have been fully operative since December 1, 1972. 2. ProhibitionsSections 3, 4 and 5 Act Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section The Textile Labelling Act prohibits
3. DefinitionsSection 2 Act Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section
4. Advertisements Subject to the RegulationsSection 4 Act | Section 22 Regulations Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section An advertisement promotes the sale of a product. This includes promoting the sale of a product via newspaper inserts, flyers, consumer magazines, catalogues, television, video, radio or in store signs. Advertisements for consumer textile articles, as identified in Appendix A, are subject to the advertising requirements of the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations unless:
5. Guidelines for AdvertisingSection 4 Act | Sections 22 and 23 Regulations | Part III Regulations Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section 5.1 Fibre ContentFibre content disclosures in the advertising of consumer textile articles are not required. However, where any representation as to the textile fibre content of a consumer textile article is made in advertising, the basic requirements are that the generic names, as identified in Appendix C, of all fibres present, in all constituent parts or sections as required, must be disclosed in descending order of predominance together at least once in the advertisement. It should be noted that the generic names for fibres do not have to be bilingual and percentages need not be disclosed unless a representation as to the amount of fibre(s) present in the consumer textile article is made. Abbreviations for generic names such as "poly" for "polyester" are unacceptable. 5.2 Country of OriginCountry of origin disclosures in the advertising of consumer textile articles is not required unless a representation is made that the article, or any fabric or fibre therein is imported. For example, if in an advertisement the statement, "imported damask cover" is used to promote the sale of a bed mattress, the country of origin of the damask cover must appear elsewhere in the advertisement. 6. Manner of Disclosure of Required InformationSection 24 Regulations Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section Where fibre content and country of origin representations are required to be made, they must appear in the advertisement together and in type of equal size and prominence. It is desirable that the required information be in a conspicuous position in the advertisement, be readily observable to the prospective consumer and not be minimized or detracted from, by non-required information. 7. Fibre Content Representations Used in AdvertisingPrevious Section | Table of Contents | Next Section 7.1 The disclosure of one or more fibres in a blend"(name of fibre(s)) blend" or "(name of fibre(s)) mix" When the terms "(name of fibre(s)) blend" or "(name of fibre(s)) mix" are used, it is preferred, although not required, that these terms refer to the predominant fibre present. In the blend, any one of the fibres present or all the fibres may be listed in an advertisement. However, the actual fibre content must appear in the prescribed manner somewhere in the advertisement. For example, a sport jacket produced from a 65% wool and 35% polyester blend could be referred to as either a polyester blend or a wool blend, providing the fibre content appears in the prescribed manner elsewhere in the advertisement. 7.2 The use of a fibre, yarn or fabric trade markRegistered trade marks for a fibre, yarn or fabric, may be shown in larger and/or more prominent type in the advertisement provided the generic names of all the fibres present in the article appear somewhere in the advertisement in type of the same size and prominence. For example, an acceptable representation in an advertisement for a Cotton and "Lycra" Spandex blend swimsuit could be:
7.3 The disclosure of the amount in which one fibre is present in the articleIf the percentage in which one fibre present in the consumer textile article is disclosed in an advertisement, then the percentages of all fibres present in the article must be provided as prescribed in the Regulations. For example, sport socks made from a 70% cotton and 30% nylon blend could be represented in an advertisement as:
7.4 The use of terms which may imply a certain textile fibre contentIf, in advertising, certain terms are used which are likely to mislead the consumer as to the actual fibre content of the article, it is advisable that the fibre content of the article be disclosed. Coined words or terms which contain the generic name or registered trade mark of any fibre or any words which are phonetically similar to a fibre's generic name or trademark are considered to imply a certain textile fibre content. When the article does not contain the fibre implied by the terminology, the actual fibre content or a clear indication that it does not contain that fibre should be given in the advertisement. 7.5 The disclosure of the fibre content of one constituent part of the articleWhen a representation as to the textile fibre content of one constituent part or section of an article is made in an advertisement, the generic names of all fibres present in all the constituent parts or sections, as required by the Regulations, must be disclosed in descending order of predominance by weight. However, trimmings and linings, interlinings, fillings or stuffings which have been added for purposes other than warmth do not require fibre content disclosure. For example, an acceptable fibre content representation in an advertisement for a sleeping bag which is constructed with a polyester fill, a nylon outer shell and cotton flannel lining could be:
Whenever a representation as to the fibre content of a specific constituent part or section is made in an advertisement, the advertisement must clearly state to which part of the item the fibre content disclosure applies. For example, use of the expression "down filled" or "down jacket", in an advertisement implies that the only interlining present in the article is down. If in fact only the body fill of the jacket is down, the advertisement must clearly state this. An acceptable representation in an advertisement for the down jacket could be:
8. False and/or Misleading RepresentationsSection 5 Act | Sections 41-45 Regulations Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section False and/or misleading representations in the advertising of all textile fibre products relating to the fibre content, type, quality, performance, origin or method of manufacture of the textile are prohibited. In specific instances, the following words or expressions may be considered to be false or misleading. The Regulations should therefore, be consulted before using the following words or expressions:
9. Environmental Claims Used in AdvertisingPrevious Section | Table of Contents | Next Section Terms that imply an environmental benefit should only be used when such claims can be supported by recognized standards or scientific principles. General or vague statements such as "environmentally friendly", "green" or "natural" should not be used unless they are further qualified with a statement of how the overall environmental impact of the product has been reduced or minimized. Terms such as "degradable", "recycled", "recyclable" or "reused" have specific meaning and implications. For more detailed information in this regard please consult the document entitled "Principles and Guidelines for Environmental Labelling and Advertising" available from the Information Center of the Competition Bureau.
Appendix APrevious Section | Table of Contents | Appendix B Examples of Consumer Textile Articles included in Schedule I of the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations
Appendix BAppendix A | Table of Contents | Appendix C Examples of Consumer Textile Articles included in Schedule II of the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations
Appendix CAppendix B | Table of Contents
|
|
Created: 1996-01-03 Updated: 2005-08-04 |
 Top of Page |
Important Notices |