New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.; Proposed Consent Agreement With Analysis To Aid Public Comment

Résumé

In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices and unfair methods of competition, this consent agreement, accepted subject to final Commission approval, would prohibit, among other things, the Boston-based athletic footwear manufacturer from misrepresenting, in any manner, that footwear made wholly abroad was made in the United States, and the quantity of footwear it exports. The agreement resolves charges that New Balance misrepresented that all of its athletic footwear sold in the United States is made in the United States when a substantial amount is made wholly abroad. The Commission also alleged that New Balance falsely represented that it annually exports to Japan hundreds of thousands of pairs of athletic shoes that are American made.