Kathmandu Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking

Kathmandu Pty Ltd, trading as Kathmandu, has provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC in respect to representations concerning its outdoor down products, particularly its ‘Goosedown’ sleeping bags.

Kathmandu has represented to consumers that its ‘Goosedown’ sleeping bags contain a minimum 90% down, which in the context strongly implies to consumers a minimum 90% goosedown.

ACCC testing of two Kathmandu ‘Goosedown’ sleeping bags showed that one Kathmandu sleeping bag contained 75.7% goosedown, while the other Kathmandu sleeping bag contained 78.3% goosedown, both significantly short of the implied minimum 90% goosedown.
 
Kathmandu advised the ACCC that its minimum 90% down content claim was made in reliance of its interpretation of the labelling percentage ‘tolerances’ allowed under the Australian Standard 2479-1987 (Down and/or feather filling materials and filled products), and that it had not intended to mislead or deceive consumers. 

Kathmandu has undertaken to:

not make any down content percentage representations which include any percentage tolerance or allowance;

not make any down content percentage representations that it cannot substantiate by way of testing of its finished down products by an International Down & Feather Bureau accredited testing organisation;

place a corrective notice on its web-site for 3 months;

in conjunction with certain other outdoor down products suppliers, place corrective newspaper advertisements in each State and Territory in which its sleeping bags have been sold; and

implement and maintain a trade practices compliance program.