Clothing/Footwear (Clothing)

The advertisement stated:

“LIVERGY
Men’s Fine Knit Cashmere Jumper
Choose from 4 different colours
Classic and elegant
in sixes M-XXL 16.99”

The complainant said that while the Cashmere claim was unqualified; he was surprised to see from the packaging that the jumper contained only 3% cashmere.

The advertisers said that their advertising had referred to ‘Men’s Fine Knit Cashmere Jumper’, a description which they considered to be true given that the item in question was fine knit and contained cashmere. They considered the description of their jumper reflected the retail industry norm for items containing such materials. The advertisers said they had never referred to the garment as being 100% cashmere and their packaging had clearly stated the percentage of cashmere it contained.

With their response the advertisers provided examples of other items containing certain materials and how they were described by the manufacturer. They provided pictures of a throw described as a ‘Cashmere Throw’ which contained 20% Cashmere and a jumper described as a ‘Lambswool Jumper’ which contained 50% Lambswool.

In conclusion the advertisers said they had not at any point misled their customers. They considered the description of their product to be fair and accurate, particularly given the item’s packaging and price point.

Further information:
The Executive examined the use of the description ‘cashmere’ in a range of advertising by other retailers. They noted that where the product was not pure cashmere the description made this clear e.g. Cashmere and Cotton, Merino and Cashmere.

The advertisers said that their advertising had referred to ‘Men’s Fine Knit Cashmere Jumper’, a description which they considered to be true given that the item in question was fine knit and contained cashmere. They considered the description of their jumper reflected the retail industry norm for items containing such materials. The advertisers said they had never referred to the garment as being 100% cashmere and their packaging had clearly stated the percentage of cashmere it contained.

With their response the advertisers provided examples of other items containing certain materials and how they were described by the manufacturer. They provided pictures of a throw described as a ‘Cashmere Throw’ which contained 20% Cashmere and a jumper described as a ‘Lambswool Jumper’ which contained 50% Lambswool.

In conclusion the advertisers said they had not at any point misled their customers. They considered the description of their product to be fair and accurate, particularly given the item’s packaging and price point.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertising should not appear in the same format again.