As a manufacturer of packaging, GWP take obvious pride in theboxes, cartons, inserts, cases andRTPthat is produced for our customers. The court explained that the plaintiffs ha[ve] alleged, at a minimum, that the packaging unfairly suggests the boxes contain more product than they actually do, or tends to or has the capacity to mislead consumers or to create a false impression. Id. The courts different treatment offers guidance to slack-fill litigants in that the determination of whether a reasonable consumer would be misled by a products packaging is not as clear-cut as one might expect. Send us your story with as much detail as possible to fill out our investigation. Shoppers drawn to sustainable, humanely raised meat and dairy products could be forgiven for thinking the nations big food companies have turned away from the industrial farming practices that have long dominated American agriculture. 26 bad packaging design examples (and ideas for how to improve them) And ultimately, not everything will be the target of a complaint, leading to lots of gray area in packaging. Copyright 2015-2023 Tedium LLC. Because federal regulation prohibiting nonfunctional slack fill does not provide for a private right of action, plaintiffs have turned to states consumer protection laws. One of the great rules of advertising states that the most powerful element of an ad is the truth. at *12. Radius Health, Inc. Investigation Shareholders Potentially Harmed By Merger Terms, Aon PLC Data Breach Investigation Personal Identifiable Information Of Over 145,000 Individuals Exposed, Certain Walmart Brand Great Value Spices Found to Contain Heavy Metals. Nonetheless, the court granted the defendants motion to dismiss because the plaintiffs failed to allege an injury. However, not all courts have made this determination at such an early stage. Id. Does packaging have an impact on consumer purchase decisions? The birds spend much of their lives on pasture, where they can peck at grass and insects, and the Gunthorp family processes the turkeys themselves, without the use of disinfectants like chlorine. To prove that the packaging was in fact misleading, one of the elements plaintiffs must show is that a reasonable consumer would be misled by a products packaging. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations mean you cannot mislead or harass consumers by, for example: including false or deceptive messages leaving out important information. Id. Many of the respondents in the study felt deceived by this and said they would be less inclined to buy these products. at 21113. Sometimes less is more; empty space in packaging serves a variety of purposes such as protecting the packages contents or enabling the package to perform as intended. at *12. Failure to do this is illegal. And what about the 10,000 other items sold by department stores that may now come under the extended consumer commodities ruling on the act by the Federal Trade Commission? How to Avoid Misleading Pouch Packaging Design This article analyzes how courts address the issue of whether a reasonable consumer would be misled by a products packaging. Transit Packaging However, please note that GWP takes no responsibility for any content provided by these websites. Right to Safety - A consumer has the right to inquire on the items' quality and guarantee before making a purchase. at *9, whereas the packaging in White required the consumer to calculate how many pieces of candy were in the package based on the net weight, serving size, and number of servings per container, id. But there was a method to the madness. . And ever open up a box for something and find that the object inside only took up a small amount of the space? With more than 4,000 rugs from 3 different countriesproduced sustainably, with fair wagesyou can tie the room together while keeping your ethical compass in check. 100.100(a). Consumer and shopping behavior Read More, Consumer rights violations must be addressed by consumer rights laws because such violations are unfair to consumers, and some are downright deceptive. A flurry of litigation by advocacy groups seeks to combat what they say is a rise in deceptive marketing by food giants. Oct. 26, 2016). Now to go play a game of Ninja Golf. It also doesnt matter if it was conducted intentionally or unintentionally. Id. "We wanted to find out whether information about a reduced fat content changed the overall perception of a product," says the study leader and economist Dr. Steffen Jahn from MLU. It was, honestly, weird, and it pulled some crazy numbers (while making my phone totally useless for a while). Confusing packaging: The consequences of misleading shoppers - LinkedIn Angela Huffman, a co-founder of the Family Farm Action Alliance, one of the complainants against Cargill, said contract farmers are often bound by mandates that dictate every step of production, from the breed of birds and feed they receive from Cargill to the type of equipment they must buy requirements that she contended could saddle farm operators with crushing debts. (Other games late in the life of the NES had similar problems: Taitos Little Samson, retrospectively considered one of the best games for the console, basically died on the vine in part because of the questionable branding, which implied a Biblical affiliation that wasnt in the game at all. at *9. It's time to renew your membership and keep access to free CLE, valuable publications and more. But now that the dust has long settled on that tweet, I got to thinking about the central theme of it: Why do we put up with misleading packaging? The court held that the plaintiffs claims were implausible as a matter of law and failed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Take a photo of a faulty item and add a brief description. Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors. Such is the case of the Atari 7800 game Ninja Golf, which (as the name suggests) combines nine holes of golf with a kick-and-punch style of gameplay somewhat reminiscent of the classic Apple II game Karateka. And due to the increasing move towards online shopping (something clearly documented in the increasedpopularity of Black Fridayevents), it would appear to be an issue that many businesses still havent got to grips with. As courts continue to address this issue, manufacturers will attempt to produce and market products that meet the courts expectations. Packaging is undoubtedly a powerful sales tool. Because at Tedium, we love the internetas a source of never-ending research, a vessel for new ideas, and a great historical deep dive. N.Y. Gen. But that was more a situation of confused branding, rather than misleading brandinghad they gone with the Japanese name, Seirei Densetsu Lickle, it might not have gone over much better, but at least it doesnt imply an affiliation that it doesnt have.). See Izquierdo, 2016 U.S. Dist. Based on 1 documents. The paper was published in the journal Food Quality and Preference. But to be a smart consumer, dont judge a food by its container.. Nowadays, more people can bet on their favorite sports with the help of technology and the internet. 2023 considertheconsumer.com, Making deceptive claims about the origin of a product, Claiming to offer a product or service at a false price, Printing false or misleading information on a products packaging or in any form of advertisement, False environmental claims such as saying a product is biodegradable or recyclable, Omission of vital information about the product, Although its a common illegal marketing practice, its difficult to recognize mislabeled goods unless you have information about it. Lawsuit Claiming Misleading Oreo Packaging Dismissed A typical example would be lying about being affiliated with a trusted organization by the public to build false authority in the consumers eyes. Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. According to Briefing paper on Misleading Packaging , the main types of misleading packaging practices in Lithuania are the following ( Briefing paper on . Correx Boxes Finally, in order to provide a bit of balance to the above, the following section provides a number of examples of clever packaging. With more and more people becoming concerned about theimpact on the environment of packaging, unnecessary packaging often gets a lot of negative publicity. Is it misleading to make a white version of a product that is usually made of chocolate, and not use white chocolate? 3d 209, 211 (E.D.N.Y. Marketing has also been done incorrectly throughout history worldwide since its been a common business practice for many years. Greg Gunthorp, a fourth-generation farmer in northeast Indiana, prides himself on raising his turkeys in ways that resonate with consumers focused on sustainability. recommended that Butterball modify or drop the phrase farmers humanely raise our turkeys every day from its labels although it said it was acceptable for the company to continue saying it has a zero-tolerance policy against any form of animal mistreatment.. pulptastic.com The flood of litigation has become so intense that Mr. Wassermans firm, Amin Talati Wasserman, recently opened an office in California, which has some of the countrys most stringent consumer protection regulations. Message. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 45 Surprising Easter Packaging Facts, Figures & Info, 5 unique ideas to entertain your kids with cardboard, Cheap packaging is it really cheaper? Slack-Fill: Deceptive Packaging That Cheats Consumers See 15 U.S. Code 1451. We called it the Heavy Huh? While the suit was eventually dismissed, Reeses and its parent company Hershey did update the packaging to make this distinction more obvious. Is it misleading to label a veggie burger a veggie burger if its primarily made of wheat? Take an honest, ethical and longer term view to what your packaging should communicate, and hold your hands up if you make a mistake. Please note that GWP takes no responsibility for the content of these web pages / sites, and that some of them may be deemed NSFW (not suitable for work). Nelnet Servicing Data Leak Your Personal Information At Risk! Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. Weekly Topic: Editorial - Misleading food labeling at *2. Id. at *910. The measure has the backing of nutritionists and healthy food advocates, but opposition from industry lobbyists is likely to complicate its passage in a narrowly divided Congress.