Misleading Fill Disclosure on a Feather & Down Pillow

The Competition Bureau received a complaint in January 2006 alleging that fibre content representations for a feather and down pillow sold nationally were potentially misleading under the Textile Labelling Act.

The disclosure label attached to the pillow stated “Feather and Down”. However, testing indicated that the article did not meet the composition standards for either feather or down as required under the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations. In fact, the product was deemed illegal for retail sale in Canada because the fill contained an amount of residue that exceeded the maximum allowed under the Regulations.

As a result of the Bureau’s examination, the retailer and the supplier jointly agreed to resolve the matter by:

• removing the product, valued at approximately $30,000, from sale across the country
• returning the product to the supplier to be destroyed.

This matter was resolved in March 2006.

(3100065)