Multiple public complaints over World's 'deceptive behaviour'

  • 08/05/2018

Fashion label World could face an investigation by the Commerce Commission after multiple public complaints over its t-shirt labelling.

On Monday it was revealed World garments with labels saying 'Made in New Zealand' were actually manufactured overseas.

In an article that was later re-published by Newshub, The Spinoff accused the designer label of selling T-shirts purchased from AS Colour. The swing tag said made in New Zealand but the tag inside the garment said made in Bangladesh.

Consumer NZ warns the practice is "deceptive behaviour", and says the Commerce Commission is likely to look into it.

"That is potentially misleading for customers because, although Denise says that is representing that the tag is made in New Zealand, no ordinary customer would think that," CEO Sue Chetwin told TVNZ.

"I guess the Commerce Commission now have got some complaints - they'll have a look at it."

A Commerce Commission spokesperson has confirmed to Newshub they are assessing the complaints.

"We have so far received five complaints to the Commission about the World t-shirt labelling which we will assess before deciding whether to investigate," they told Newshub.

However World's Dame Denise L'Estrange-Corbet says the tags are not misleading to customers.

"The World clothing tags that say Made in NZ are Made in NZ, so there's nothing misleading about this," she told The Spinoff. "The t-shirts do not state this."

She has launched a scathing attack against Madeleine Chapman, who wrote the original Spinoff article.

"There's no garments in any of my stores that state that they're made somewhere where they're not made, which is what she's been trying to say for this beat-up story," she told Wendyl Nissen on RadioLIVE.

"We never sell them as is - we embellish them, we print on them. And we don't say that they're made in New Zealand. The label is quite clear about that."

According to the Fair Trading Act of 1986, it's illegal to "make a false or misleading representation concerning the place of origin of goods or services".

"If 'important components' are imported or if part of the manufacturing process is undertaken offshore, then a New Zealand-made claim risks breaching the act," The Spinoff's Rebecca Stevenson wrote on an article re-published by Newshub.

"In 2002 a company got pinged for claiming T-shirts that were made in Australia and China were made in New Zealand."

Tearfund CEO Ian McInnes says how these items should be labelled is an "interesting question".

"The raw material comes from one country, it's turned into fabric in another, it's sewn into a garment in potentially a third country," he told The AM Show on Tuesday.

"Then, in the case of this World t-shirt, it's assembled… here in New Zealand."

Dame Denise says every garment was made in New Zealand until seven years ago, when the country's last T-shirt factory closed because "all the designers were going offshore".

"We were unable to find a factory that had the machinery we needed for the T-shirts," she says.

"If there was a factory in New Zealand that still made T-shirts, we would use them."

Newshub.