EXTRA CREDIT BLOG POST

On Friday morning, I attended the TAM Summit where William Kovacic, from the Law department at George Wash U, spoke.  Kovacic talked about the laws from the 1960’s compared to today. Back then there were more laws and importance in textile labeling. Today, it’s just as important, but is buried in one of the 15 divisions in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, one of the major FTC operating units. This is an issue because textile labeling is being forgotten, even though it still is as important as ever.

            If textile labeling was wrong, for example if something said 100% silk, but was not, the company could potentially lose sales for being dishonest to the consumer. Also the warnings may be different for some of the fabrics, potentially putting the consumer at harm. This is also applies to food. If we don’t know what is in the product, this could be dangerous. When certain products come to the US and doesn’t meet labeling requirements, Congress complains. But since textile labeling isn’t as much of a priority than anything else, how does it change? Coming up with a policy was Kovacic’s main concern. He described the physics vs. the engineers. The physics is easy to come up with, but the engineers have it hardest—how do you implement that?

            FTC’s main priority now is Modern Repositioning, which means changing the process to increased social awareness about the environment. The FTC is in the process of transitioning to “green” products and awareness. Although there are still positives about FTC, it is time for the industry to change its ways and focus on how to implement the policy, which was the purpose of this Summit.