Sheepskin manufacturer stops false claims

Australian manufacturer Tasman Sheepskin Tannery has given a court-enforceable undertaking that it will cease claiming its medical sheepskins meet a voluntary standard for these products where they fail to comply with the requirements of the standard.

Tasman Sheepskin Tannery manufactures and distributes medical sheepskins and other sheepskin products to customers such as hospitals, physiotherapists, home health care bodies, retailers and consumers directly.

Medical sheepskins are used as a bed or chair underlay to distribute and relieve pressure to prevent the onset of ulcers or bed sores in immobile people. Medical sheepskins have also been developed under specialised processes designed to prevent shrinkage during high temperature laundering. To ensure a medical sheepskin works as intended, a voluntary standard was introduced.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) became concerned when a hospital physiotherapist reported a consumer finding up to 80 grass seeds imbedded in the leather and wool of a medical sheepskin. The ACCC was of the view the presence of grass seeds was likely to breach the standard with which Tasman Sheepskin Tannery had claimed compliance.

The medical sheepskins also did not have the labelling and washing instructions attached required by the standard. Sheepskins subsequently purchased by the ACCC contained up to 40 grass seeds.

Whilst the standard is not a mandatory standard, meaning compliance with it is voluntary, Tasman Sheepskin Tannery risked breaching sections 52 and 53(a) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 by misrepresenting its medical sheepskins complied with this standard where in fact they did not.

The ACCC has accepted court-enforceable undertakings from Tasman Sheepskin Tannery that it will:

· cease representing that its medical sheepskins comply with the standard where they do not
· replace or refund any medical sheepskins manufactured by Tasman Sheepskin Tannery since 1 November 2005 that contain grass seeds or do not display the required labelling, and
· implement a trade practices compliance program.

“It is crucial that where a business represents it complies with a standard, it has measures like quality control and trade practices compliance programs in place to ensure that claims of compliance will not mislead consumers,” ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel said.

“Consumers in this case are vulnerable and may be poorly placed to identify non-compliance with the standard.

“The message to manufacturers is simple – if you are not sure you can claim compliance with a standard – don’t.”

A copy of the undertakings will be available from the ACCC’s website – www.accc.gov.au