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Trade Commission (FTC) charges that slimming claims for their caffeine-infused products were false and not substantiated by scientific evidence. The proposed orders settling the FTC’s complaints bar Norm Thompson Outfitters Inc., and Wacoal America Inc., from making false and unsubstantiated claims about their shapewear and require them to pay a total of more than $1.5 million for consumer refunds.
“Caffeine-infused shapewear is the latest ‘weight-loss’ brew concocted by marketers,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The FTC’s complaint against Norm Thompson Outfitters alleges the company deceptively advertised, marketed, and sold women’s undergarments infused with microencapsulated caffeine, retinol, and other ingredients, claiming the “shapewear” would slim and reshape the wearer’s body and reduce cellulite. The products, made with Lytess brand fabrics, were sold via mail order and on the company’s Norm Thompson Outfitters, Sahalie, Body Solutions and Body*Belle websites.
Specifically, the FTC alleges that the company made claims that wearing its shapewear would eliminate or substantially reduce cellulite; reduce the wearer’s hip measurements by up to two inches and their thigh measurements by one inch; and reduce thigh and hip measurements “without any effort.” The complaint alleges that these claims are not true or substantiated by scientific evidence.
The complaint against Wacoal America contains similar allegations regarding the company’s “iPants.”