EK Ekcessories said it was “deeply disappointed” that the company was not contacted by Outdoor USA Magazine to represent its side of the alleged claims by the FTC in the article titled, “FTC Wags Finger at Made in USA Fibs,” in the November 2013 issue.
EK Ekcessories put out the following statement addressing what it calls, “the articles numerous inaccuracies”:
“Contrary to the claims in the article EK did not ‘fib’ and was not ‘intentionally deceitful.’ EK has for twenty eight years sold products that were made 100% in the USA. Only recently, with a few new lines of products, EK has had a few components made offshore. But even for those new product lines, the vast majority of the components are made in the USA, and 100% of all EK products are assembled in the USA. Until recently, EK was unaware of the FTC’s strict application of its ‘Made in the USA’ guidelines, which in most cases does not even allow a small portion of the components to be made overseas.
“Nevertheless, EK is now fully compliant even with the FTC’s strict requirements. EK believes it is likely that many businesses are in violation of the FTC requirements for labeling products as ‘Made in the USA’ without even knowing it. In fact, the claim by the author of the article indicates Outdoor USA Magazine is ‘100% Made in USA.’ The publisher of Outdoor USA Magazine recently admitted to EK that he cannot confirm the materials used for the magazine are actually made in the USA.”
