ACCC alleges Tamar Knitting Mills misrepresented origin of polo shirts as Tasmanian

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has initiated criminal proceedings in the Federal Court alleging that GIA Pty Ltd, trading as Tamar Knitting Mills, and its Managing Director, Eric Ian Thompson, contravened the Trade Practices Act 1974 by falsely representing that Chinese made polo shirts sold by Tamar were made in Tasmania by Tamar.

Tamar, a well known manufacturer of knitwear items in Launceston, Tasmania is now in liquidation.

The ACCC alleges that over a 12 month period, Tamar purchased Chinese-made polo shirts, removed the original collar label on each polo shirt which stated that the item was made in China, substituted a 'Tamar' brand collar label, and attached a swing tag to each polo shirt falsely representing that the item was 'Tasmanian' or was 'Made in Tasmania by Tamar Knitting Mills'. The ACCC alleges that Tamar then offered the polo shirts for sale to consumers.

The ACCC alleges that Mr Thompson implemented and directed the alleged conduct which took place during 1999 and 2000.

The ACCC has also alleged that Mr Thompson knowingly furnished false information to the ACCC in response to a statutory notice issued to the company, of which Mr Thompson was the relevant officer, during the ACCC's investigation.

A directions hearing is listed for 8 October 2001 at the Federal Court in Hobart.