Why Salons Shouldn’t Rip Tags From Bridal Gowns
By Dorothea Salo

The Problem:
You walk into a bridal shop, and there it is: The Dress. You try it on, and it looks and fits the way you always knew it would.

Then you look for the tag and it’s not there. The salesperson tells you nonchalantly, “Oh, we always take them out; you can find out the manufacturer when you order.”

You’re suddenly unhappy. Perhaps you’re allergic to rayon, or you really love the look and feel of genuine silk. Perhaps it matters to you where your gown was made, because you try not to buy textiles from countries that employ sweatshop labor, or you are aware that different countries have differing standards in garment quality.

Well, you are entitled to this information. Because the United States government believes consumers have a right to know what their garments are made of, where they were made, and how to care for them, every textile product for sale in the United States of America must contain tags with:

Certain exceptions to this law exist, but none of them covers this hypothetical bridal shop.

This particular scam is so pervasive that it has appeared in nationwide media. Well-known consumer advocates Alan and Denise Fields have written about it in both Bridal Bargains and Bridal Gown Guide.

Here’s the information you need to do something about it.

Some Details
The law that is being broken is United States Code Title 15 Sections 70b and 70c (which can be abbreviated 15 USC 70b and 70c). It is known as the “Textile Fiber Products Identification Act.” Enforcement of this law is up to the Federal Trade Commission, which knows about the problem and is actively trying to solve it.

Every manufacturer is required to put two sets of information in every garment produced. One tag must be a “care label” describing how to best launder and care for the item; this tag must be sewn in, and must never be removed from any garment for any reason. The other tag may be sewn-in or a conspicuous hang-tag, and per section 70b must contain:

The name of one link in the production chain. This may be the manufacturer, the retail store, or any other company involved in the distribution of the gown. Any of these may be identified by name or by the Registered Identification Number which the company must file with the FTC. The product’s fiber content. The country or countries of manufacture. There are certain exceptions in the law for garments for which sewing in a tag is fairly awkward (socks, for example) but bridal gowns and other dresses most definitely must have tags.

Per section 70c, these tags cannot be removed by someone selling the garment retail with one important exception (section 70c, (b)). If the company selling the gown removes a tag with some or all of the legally required information on it, the company must put in a new tag containing exactly the same information required by law, but including also the name (or Registered Identification Number) of the company making the tag substitution. The stores are also required to keep records relating to any tags they remove. The care tag, as I said, may not be removed under any circumstances.

The dodge “Well, we’re not selling this exact gown; the gown you receive will have a tag!” is also unacceptable, according to the FTC’s own interpretation of these laws. Part 303 of the FTC’s trade regulation rules, “Rules and Regulations under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act,” states that samples used to sell textiles must be correctly labeled. So does the FTC’s publication specifically dealing with wedding gowns.

Ironically, bridal shops can get away with not having a tag with the legally required information on the dress you receive, assuming that your dress is a custom order. This is only possible, however, when the sample in the shop is correctly labeled! (An invoice with the information required by law must be included with your custom-made dress.)

However, the practice (reported by many brides-to-be) of salons substituting a tag which contains nothing but a number referring to the salon’s own arcane filing system is quite illegal. Be careful not to confuse this with the permitted practice of using Registered Identification Numbers of companies rather than their names. If this is what the salon decides to do, the salon is within the law as long as they have also included fiber content information on the tag. (If you really wanted to make an issue of this, you could ask the salon about the records it must keep about the tags it took out. I think this is too nitpicky to bother with, however. If the practice bothers you that much, it’s probably best to shop elsewhere.)

Section 70i of Title 15 provides for penalties of up to a year in prison or a $5,000 fine for breaking the textile identification laws. The FTC has stated that it can seek penalties of up to $11,000 per violation against manufacturers or distributors who rip out care labels, but NOT against salons that do so. The FTC can order a salon to stop breaking the law; violation of such an FTC “administrative order” can lead to very harsh penalties.

Am I Entitled To The Manufacturer’s Name?
Not by law, no. The salon can legally take out a tag with the manufacturer’s name, and substitute one with its own name, or the name of its distributor. They can also use Registered Identification Numbers instead of names. No law requires them to disclose the manufacturer of a dress to you.

Bridal salons complain that brides-to-be check out their samples, have salon employees help them find their size, get extensive advice from these employees, and then go order their gowns from a low-cost mail-order service. I myself hope brides-to-be realize that this is rude and takes unfair advantage of the salons. Gown samples are not free to the salons, and employees have to be paid. As salons currently function, these services are included in the price of the gowns the salons sell. Tag-ripping developed as a way to protect the salon’s business, even though it is a solution which is illegal and unfair to consumers.

(In my ideal world, salons would establish hourly pricing for advice and sample try-on sessions, and sell the gowns at prices which did not include service markups. This seems a more straightforward, honest system than the current one, and it would not encourage salons to hide information from consumers.)

Here is what I suggest when you find a salon which is acting according to law, but still not providing a manufacturer’s name:

Write down the date and time of your visit to the salon, the name of the salesperson (if possible), and as much as you can remember of what you were told. Keep this information; the more you can tell the FTC about what happened, the more likely they are to take you seriously.

The FTC has taken notice of this problem, and is actively trying to educate bridal salons about their responsibilities under the law, and enforce the law against recalcitrant salons. For now, I am told, the FTC wishes to concentrate on salons that are ripping out all tags (including the care tag) and not making any substitution at all. The FTC cannot do anything, of course, unless they know who is breaking the law. That’s where you come in.

You can file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the Consumer Response Center. Their phone number is 202-FTC-HELP (382-4357), and their TDD number is 202-326-2502. The snail mail address is: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC also has an online complaint form. In my experience dealing with other entities within the federal government, I have found that a written (snailmail) letter counts for far more with them than an email, online complaint, or telephone call. When in doubt, follow up with a written letter!

There are other possibilities as well. The Better Business Bureau may be interested in what you have to say; their address and phone number should be in your local phone book. You can also file a complaint with them at www.bbb.org; your complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate chapter of the organization. It also can’t hurt to notify state and local consumer protection agencies, even though it’s likely they won’t help you.

Another source of aid may be local scambusters associated with newspapers or radio/TV stations. As long as you’re sending letters out, drop one by these folks.

What To Say
Here is what I recommend you say when you write to agencies about offending bridal salons. These are only recommendations; you may of course ignore them, or modify them as you wish.

This is a business letter. Don’t forget to include your return address (top right), the address of the agency you’re writing to (below your address, at left), and the date (below their address, at left). Use a colon after the salutation.

The opening paragraph should be an attention grabber. Explain that you have witnessed X shop (give the shop’s name, address, and telephone number, along with a contact at the shop if you know of one) breaking federal law (include the law: the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, United States Code Title 15, sections 70b and/or 70c) and you are concerned about it and would like to see action taken.

In the next paragraphs, explain concisely and in detail what happened to you at the shop, and precisely how this breaks the law. Use direct quotes (in quotation marks) from the people at the shop if and only if you wrote them down word for word at the time; otherwise, make it clear that you are paraphrasing what went on, but do be as specific as possible about what was said and done.

Explain what you want done in the next paragraph or two. If you want the shop to disclose information about its gowns to you, say so. If you want the agency you’re writing to to punish the shop somehow, say how. (Be realistic. Not all agencies will have the power to do anything about the shop.) If you’re writing to the FTC, explain that you want to see the law you mentioned enforced, both in the case of this salon and across the country.

Include a final paragraph reiterating what you said at the beginning of your letter, and thank the agency for its time and attention.

Click here to read the actual law pertaining to this issue.