Neiman Marcus settles charges of misleading ‘fake-fur’ labels

Federal regulators have reached a settlement with three clothing retailers that they accused of misrepresenting products as fake-fur.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused The Neiman Marcus Group, DrJays.com and Eminent, which does business as Revolve Clothing, of including real animal fur in products without listing them or their country of origin.

The three companies agreed to comply with terms drawn up by the FTC, including an agreement to not violate Fur Act rules and regulations for 20 years. None of the companies admitted any wrongdoing under the settlement.

Products from coats to shoes have contained real fur without disclosing the type of animal on the tag, the FTC says. Neiman Marcus was accused of misrepresenting the merchandise on its website, catalog and ad mailers. One of those products is a coat by fashion designer Marc Jacobs.

The Humane Society of the United States has been filing petitions with the FTC about the mislabeling since 2007, according to the Wall Street Journal. The most recent petition, in 2011, revealed laboratory tests that showed that as many as 11 retailers have used real fur and advertised it as fake.

Reports have shown that in some cases, the fur from Raccoon Dogs can be cheaper than making the synthetic version.

This report was corrected on March 22, 2013 to reflect the most accurate name of the Humane Society of the United States. Before, it was listed as the Humane Society.

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