U.S. Federal Trade Commission alerts hat industry regarding mislabeling of hats

[Atticus Finch]

Darn. Looks like you could have just trimmed the brims from four inches back to three and sent the trimmings to the lab for analysis.

AF

 

[outsidebear]

Am I correct with my thinking here that long ago and far away with western hats:
10x was 100% beaver
4x was 40% beaver, the rest rabbit or other fur
7x was 70% beaver, the rest rabbit or other fur

Whereas today we have runaway x's out there?
Customers ask me what the hat's made of?
I inform them rabbit blend, a mixture of 50/50 rabbit blend/beaver, or 100% beaver (well darn near anyway!).
Would like to hear some input from folks on this, thanks...

 

[fedoracentric]

Seems to me that in the 50s and 60s a Stetson 7X was 50% beaver as the hat was $50 when the Stetson 100 was, well, $100.
Hope someone can clarify.

 

[jhe888]

I'm not trying to nit-pick...I applaud your efforts on behalf of your client…but it seems that this action taken by the FTC is based entirely on the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 and concerns only the wool content of hats. In other words…and please correct me if I’m wrong…a company could make a hat from 100% opossum fur and call it XXXXX Beaver, and this FTC action would do nothing to prevent it.

But regardless, perhaps this is a start toward more truthful hat labeling, and for that I thank you and your client.

AF

Other statutes would prevent calling a possum fur hat a beaver hat. In Texas, it would be the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Almost all states have something similar.

 

[Lefty]

Seems to me that in the 50s and 60s a Stetson 7X was 50% beaver as the hat was $50 when the Stetson 100 was, well, $100.
Hope someone can clarify.

There is nothing to support this. Best guesses are that 7xCB and 100 are both pure beaver, but the 100 is 100% beaver belly. Not all blends are of different animal furs . There are also blends of furs with different characteristics and qualities that come from the same type of animal.