Skechers Inc.

Case:

Skechers Inc. violated the Fair Trade Law by posting false and untrue advertisement for its Shape-ups/ Tone-ups series

Key Word(s):

Body-shaping, calorie-burning, effect of exercise

Reference:

Fair Trade Commission Decision of March 13, 2013 (the 1114th Commissioners' Meeting); Disposition Kung Ch'u Tzu No. 102026

Industry:

Wholesale of Footwear (4553)

Relevant Law(s):

Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law

Summary:

1. US sports shoes maker Skechers Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Skechers) hired celebrities to endorse and promote its products, but the claims it presented lacked the support of scientific evidence. Consumers filed a joint lawsuit against Skechers Inc. and the US Federal Trade Commission began to investigate the suspected false advertising. The FTC therefore initiated an ex officio investigation on the advertisements by local Skechers.
2. Findings of the FTC after investigation:
   

   Skechers claimed on its company website that the "Shape-ups/Tone-ups series…can double the effect of exercise, help burn more calories" and "Skechers Shape-ups/Tone-ups series…consume more calories."

3. Grounds for disposition:
   

   The said advertisements from Skechers gave the public the impression that consumers could double the effect of their exercise and burn more calories simply by wearing sport shoes of the company's Shape-ups or Tone-ups series. The company provided 16 research reports to support the above claim, yet only two of these reports had been conducted with their focus on the Shape-ups series. Moreover, Dr. Tishya A. L. Wren concluded in her research report "Children's Hospital Study: Testing of Skechers Shape-ups Shoes" that testees wearing shoes with an irregular arch in the sole normally shifted their balance from one leg to the other in order to maintain a more stable posture and therefore generated more muscle activities. Meanwhile, in the research report "The Effect of Shoe Sole Shapes on Muscle Activity Amount and Patterns" by Associate Professor Yanagiya Toshio et al., the conclusion was that, compared to conventional flat sole shoes, the instability of arched sole shoes allowed the leg muscles of testees wearing Shape-ups to have more activities when walking. It was never mentioned in either of the above two research reports that wearing the said series could double the effect of exercise or burn more calories. As for the remaining 14 studies, in fact they had been conducted on MBT shoes. Only few of them indicated that the MBT models could help strengthen leg muscles, while some mentioned the increase of the metabolism rate and some other indicated alleviation of pressure in the lower back to improve stooping. However, nothing was said about wearing MBT shoes could double the effect of exercise or burn more calories. Consequently, Skechers was unable to provide any theories or clinical test results to support its claim and therefore it had to be considered groundless. The wording was a false, untrue and misleading representation with regard to the quality and use of product in violation of Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law. Acting according to the first section of Article 41(1) of the same law, the FTC imposed on the company an administrative fine of NT$200,000.

Appendix:
Skechers Inc.'s Uniform Invoice Number: 80543239

Summarized by Hsu, Tzung-Yu; Supervised by Chi, Hsueh-Li