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Weinberger, Milton R., cloak, suit, and skirt manufacturers..

Weiss, Herman, Bloomingdale's.

Wilson, J. B., National Wool Growers Association_.

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35 361ST XL1

08/94 53-005-00

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[H. R. 6917, 75th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To protect producers, manufacturers, and consumers from the unrevealed presence of substitutes and mixtures in woven or knitted fabrics and in garments or articles of apparel made therefrom, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Fabric Labeling Act of 1937."

SEC. 2. As used in this Act

DEFINITIONS

(a) The term "person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association.

(b) The term "wool" means wool of the sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat.

(c) The term "woolen goods" means any yarn and any woven or knitted fabric, and any garment or article of apparel made from such woven or knitted fabric or knitted from such yarn, which purports to contain wool or is in any way represented as containing wool or as being in whole or in part a "wool," "woolen," or "worsted" fabric.

(d) The term "Commission" means "The Federal Trade Commission."

(e) The term "interstate or foreign commerce" means commerce between any State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, and any place outside thereof; or between points within the same State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, but through any place outside thereof; or within any Territory or possession, or the District of Columbia.

PROHIBITION OF MISBRANDED GOODS

SEC. 3. No person shall ship or deliver for shipment, or sell or offer for sale at wholesale or retail, in interstate or foreign commerce, any article, wholly or partly produced or processed of or containing fabrics originating in, shipped from, or processed in a State other than the State in which such article is sold or offered for sale, if such article is composed wholly or partly of wool and is misbranded or falsely described.

This section shall not apply

(a) to any common carrier in respect of any article shipped or delivered for shipment in the ordinary course of its business as a common carrier; nor

(b) to any person in respect of any article shipped, delivered for shipment, or sold for exportation from the United States to any foreign country if such article is branded in accordance with the specifications of the purchaser and in accordance with the laws of such country.

MISBRANDED GOODS

SEC. 4. For the purpose of this Act any fabric, garment, or article of wearing apparel purporting to contain wool, or in any way represented as containing wool, shall be held to be misbranded unless stamped, tagged, or labeled in accordance with the following paragraphs of this section and with such additional regulations as the Commission may prescribe.

(b) Each stamp, tag, or label shall show

1. The registration number of the manufacturer last processing the article, whether such manufacturer be a textile or garment manufacturer, or, in the case of imported merchandise not further processed or manufactured in this country, the registration number of the importer.

2. The actual percentage content by weight of each fiber contained, except that the word "wool" shall not appear on any such stamp, tag. or label if the fabric or goods contains less than 25 per centum by weight of wool. Α tolerance of 2 per centum by weight shall be allowed for unavoidable variations in manufacture.

3. The percentage figures relating to fiber content must be of size equivalent to the name of the fiber or fibers to which they refer and it must be as conspicuously shown as the name of the fiber or fibers.

4. On any stamp, tag, or label containing the name of more than one fiber, the names of different fibers shown shall be uniform as to size of type or other characters.

5. Fabrics or goods may contain 2 per centum or less, by weight, of a fiber not revealed on the stamp, tag, or label.

(c) No stamp, tag, or label, nor any advertisement offering for sale any labeled merchandise, may contain any trade name, pictorial representation, term, or descriptive name which suggests or implies the presence of wool unless the fabric contains 25 per centum or more of wool by weight and the label complies with the requirements of this section.

(d) This Act shall not be construed as requiring any information in respect to linings, interlinings, paddings, stiffening, trimmings, or facings, except that if any lining or interlining is represented as containing wool then the terms of this section shall be applicable thereto.

REQUIREMENT OF REGISTRATION NUMBER

SEC. 5. It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer, wholesaler, jobber, dealer, or retailer of wool or part-wool fabrics or wool or part-wool goods to ship, deliver for shipment, sell, or offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any such goods unless he has in force a valid registration number secured from the Commission.

In the case of merchandise made wholly or in part of wool, the registration number to appear upon the label or tag shall be the number assigned to the last manufacturer or processor of such merchandise. In the case of piece goods wholly or in part of wool sold in the piece or by the yard, the textile manufacturer shall be deemed to have complied with the provisions of this act if he attaches to each piece of goods a tag containing the information specified in section 4 hereof. In the case of blankets, or of wearing apparel and other articles of merchandise made from woven or knitted wool or part-wool piece goods, or knitted from wool or part-wool yarn, each garment, article, or unit of merchandise must carry a tag or label as provided in section 4 hereof, such label to bear the registration number only of the person manufacturing, processing, or finishing the completed article or unit.

ENFORCEMENT OF THE ACT

SEC. 6. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this act, the Federal Trade Commission shall enforce its provisions. The Commission may cause investigations, inspections, analyses, and tests to be made and samples to be collected of any fabrics or goods.

The shipment, delivery for shipment, sale, or offer for sale in interstate commerce by any person of fabrics, goods, or merchandise not stamped, tagged, or labeled in conformity with this act or with rules and regulations authorized by this act to be prescribed is unlawful and shall constitute an unfair method of competition under the Federal Trade Commission Act; that is, the act entitled "An Act to create a Federal Trade Commission, to define its powers and duties, and for other purposes," approved September 26, 1914, and amendments thereto. The Commission is authorized to cooperate with any department or agency of the Government, with any State, Territory, or possession, or with the District of Columbia, or with any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, or with any person.

EXCLUSION OF MISBRANDED GOODS

SEC. 7. (a) Whenever the Federal Trade Commission has reason to believe that any goods offered for importation are being shipped in interstate or foreign commerce in violation of this act, it shall give due notice and opportunity for hearing thereon to the owner or consignee and certify such fact to the Secretary of the Treasury who shall thereupon (1) refuse admission and delivery thereof to the consignee, or (2) authorize admission and delivery thereof to the consignee pending examination, hearings, and decision in the matter on the execution of a penal bond to the amount of the full invoice value thereof, together with the duty thereon, if any, and to the effect that on refusal to return such goods for any cause to the Secretary of the Treasury when demanded, for the purpose of excluding such goods from the country or for any other purpose, the consignee shall forfeit the full amount of the bond.

(b) If, after proceeding in accordance with subdivision (a), the Federal Trade Commission is satisfied that such goods were shipped in interstate or foreign commerce in violation of this act, it shall certify the fact to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall thereupon notify the owner or consignee and cause the sale or other disposition of such goods unless such goods are exported by the owner or consignee within 3 months from the date of such notice, under

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