ACCC accepts court enforceable undertakings from Ray’s Outdoors over product labelling

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted court enforceable undertakings from Ray’s Outdoors about the labelling of its Wild Country elastic luggage straps.

The undertakings resolve ACCC concerns that in supplying Wild Country elastic luggage straps Ray’s Outdoors may have breached the mandatory product safety standard for elastic luggage straps prescribed under the Trade Practices Act 1974.  

Due to the potential harm that elastic luggage straps can cause, the mandatory standard requires them to have a permanently attached label containing a specifically worded warning that is a certain size and colour.

“The ACCC is responsible for ensuring compliance with mandatory consumer product safety standards under the Act,” ACCC Chairman Mr Graeme Samuel said. 

“All companies have a responsibility to ensure that the goods they supply comply with mandatory standards. The ACCC places great importance on promoting compliance with mandatory standards and will not hesitate to take enforcement action when necessary."

When the ACCC raised its concerns with Ray’s Outdoors the company withdrew all its Wild Country straps from point of sale. Ray’s Outdoors has also undertaken to:

• relabel its remaining stocks of Wild Country elastic luggage straps to comply with the mandatory standard
• notify consumers throughout Victoria by means of a product recall to be published in relevant Victorian newspapers
• not supply an elastic luggage strap that does not comply with the mandatory standard
• implement an upgraded corporate trade practices compliance program with a focus on mandatory product safety standards.

Background

The mandatory product safety standard made in October 1999 (which came into effect June 2001) requires that elastic tie down luggage straps have a permanently attached label containing the following warning:

WARNING. Avoid eye injury. DO NOT overstretch. ALWAYS keep face and body out of recoil path. DO NOT use when strap has visible signs of wear or damage.

According to the standard the word ‘WARNING’ is to be in upper case black letters of not less than 4mm in height; and the words ‘DO NOT’ and ‘ALWAYS’ are to be in upper case black letters or not less than 2mm in height. The remaining text must be in lower case black letters not less than 2mm in height.  The label must have a yellow background and be clearly displayed.