Walmart Website Riddled with Deceptive Made in USA Claims | Truth In Advertising

Walmart Website Riddled with Deceptive Made in USA Claims

Walmart is going all out for America, pledging to buy an additional $250 billion in American products. To that end, the world’s largest retailer hosted a manufacturing summit to look for U.S. made products to sell. The event started three days after the Fourth of July and promised to be a star-spangled affair.

But one item that probably didn’t make the agenda: The made in the USA labeling mess on Walmart.com that the company has pledged to address after TINA.org brought the issue to corporate officials.

TINA.org’s investigation into the retail giant’s website readily uncovered more than 100 instances of false and deceptive made in the USA representations. The investigation revealed products labeled “Made in the USA” though packaging indicated they were “Made in China.” TINA.org also found USA product labels on Walmart.com that were in direct conflict with the site’s own specification information on the same webpage.

But while Walmart pledged that it would fix the problems, and has made limited progress in removing some of the false labels, the website is still riddled with USA labeling issues.

It’s no secret that patriotism sells. Not only do Americans prefer products made in the USA to those made abroad, but a recent survey found that they are willing to pay 60 percent more for American-made products.

“It’s incredibly disingenuous for Walmart to be promoting their initiative to stock $250 billion American-made products while at the same time they are in violation of FTC labeling standards for what qualifies as made in the USA,” said Michelle Amazeen, assistant professor of advertising at New Jersey’s Rider University.

Walmart said that it is going to work on all of these issues. But until Walmart completely gets its house in order, consumers should question made in the USA claims appearing on the retailer’s site.

via Walmart Website Riddled with Deceptive Made in USA Claims | Truth In Advertising

Here’s How To Make Sure You,
Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant

By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?

Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.

FTC Guardian is a service that is 100% focused on helping to keep you get and stay FTC compliant and fully protected. And right now, we are offering a free training to give you the knowledge, information, and guidance that you need to stay out of trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.

The training is titled: 3 Tragic (Legal) Privacy Policy List Building Mistakes That Can Get You In Hot Water With The FTC Today – Resulting In Your Business Being Shut Down… And How To Solve It!

Here are some of the things you’ll discover on the training:

• Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn’t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too

• Why 2014 Was a Significant Year For Online Businesses, And Why You Should Be Worried!

• The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life – And Your Family’s Life – Forever!

• How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms

• 3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You're In The FTC Crosshairs.

• And Much More…

Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it’s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!

Disclaimer:  This article is provided for informational purposes only. It’s not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Neither the author nor FTC Guardian, Inc. is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission.