Millions in fines for world-famous brands! Pigskin used in shoes

The Advertising Board of the Ministry of Trade has determined that pigskin was used in certain shoe models belonging to sportswear giants New Balance, Vans, and Camper. It was decided to impose administrative fines on the brands due to this information being presented incompletely in product descriptions.

INCOMPLETE INFORMATION

The Board encountered the phrase "37 percent Pigskin" on products sold in Turkey. This situation revealed that there was incomplete information regarding the components of shoes containing pigskin. The failure to clearly state sensitive issues of public concern in the contents of products from global brands such as New Balance, Vans, and Camper initiated the sanction process.

FINE FOR NEW BALANCE

In the investigation conducted by the Board, it was determined that only general descriptions such as "suede," "mesh," or "synthetic" were used in the promotion of the "W990GL6," "M2002RST," "U9060BLK," and "U9060BLK" models on New Balance's online sales platform in Turkey. However, on the brand's international websites, the term "pigskin/mesh" was explicitly used for these products.

The Ministry of Trade evaluated this situation as a deficiency that violates religious sensitivities. In this context, an administrative fine of 1 million 730 thousand TL was imposed on New Balance, and it was decided to stop the misleading advertisements.

FINES FOR VANS AND CAMPER

Similar deficiencies were also detected for some shoe models belonging to the Vans brand. Due to the lack of sufficient information regarding the use of pigskin in product descriptions, it was decided to impose a fine of 863 thousand 580 TL on the company and to issue a suspension order for the advertisements.

It was reported that similar content deficiencies were also encountered in some models of the Camper brand. In line with the decision taken by the Board, it was emphasized that products containing pigskin must be clearly declared to the consumer. The penal procedures to be applied to the brand are expected to be clarified shortly.

WARNING ON RELIGIOUS SENSITIVITY

In the Board's decision, attention was drawn to the provision: "If a component that is contrary to the general religious sensitivities of society is used directly or indirectly in the content of an advertised good, this matter must be clearly stated in the advertisements." Deceiving and misleading the consumer was addressed in this context both legally and ethically.