The Fur Products Labeling Act (Fur Act) prohibits the misbranding and false advertising of fur products. The Fur Rules establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission in enforcing the Rules. The Rules also provide a procedure for exemption from certain disclosure provisions under the Fur Act.
The Federal Trade Commission is requesting a change from its burden estimate of 121,000 hours under its current OMB clearance up to 168,098 hours. The increase of 47,098 hours is mostly attributable to a program change, which is an increase of 39,024 hours derived from recent statutory changes. There is a separate increase of 8,424 hours for an adjustment in agency estimates derived from changing market conditions and a revised burden estimate for the automatic attachment of labels (which increased from 2 seconds to 5 seconds).
Amendments to the Fur Act in 2010 are expected to increase the cost of complying with the Fur Rules. Congress eliminated the Commission's power to exempt from the labeling requirements items where either the cost of the fur trim to the manufacturer or the manufacturer's selling price for the finished product is less than $150. As a result, more garments will be subject to the Fur Act and Rules, which will impose higher recordkeeping and labeling costs on manufacturers, importers, and retailers. Because the requirements started to apply to the previously exempted garments last year, the Commission has only limited information on the extent to which compliance costs will increase
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Fur SS - 2012 - FINAL_mtd.pdf
Recordkeeping-Manufacturers and Fur Processors