Lions Not Sheep fined for ‘Made in China’ and ‘Made in USA tags swap – USA TODAY

Utah company 'Lions Not Sheep' fined for replacing 'Made in China' labels

Utah-based company Lions Not Sheep has been fined $211,335 by the Federal Trade Commission for falsely claiming its products are made in the U.S.

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An apparel company known forinflammatory apparel championingthe Second Amendment and Donald Trump has been fined after the Federal Trade Commissionfound the companyfalsely claimedits imported apparel is made in the U.S.

Utah-based Lions Not Sheep and its owner,Sean Whalen, were slapped with a $211,335 fine last week after the FTC found the company removed Made in China tags, replacing them with fake Made in the USA labels, according to a FTC news release.

The fine comes on the heels ofacomplaintfiled by the FTC inMay.

According to the FTC, the company added phony "Made in USA" labels to clothing imported from China and other countries. The FTC release did not not identify the other countries.

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Theapparel company sells items including T-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets on itswebsite as well as through Amazon and Etsy.

Products, according to the FTC, are marketed heavilythrough social media channels, claiming that it would show people its possible to live your life as a LION, Not a sheep.

Some shirts on its website read give violence a chance, depict former PresidentTrump as the Terminator andfeature military-style firearms.

"You have two choices, to be lead or to be led," the company's website read on Monday.

Whalen said in a statement to USA TODAY the company does not agree with the FTC's ruling, but has "no choice but to accept it and move on." The statement said the company has been "very honest and transparent" about its business, citing an October 2020 Facebook video posted by Whalen in which he says the company buys shirts that were made inChina.

In addition to the fine, under a 12-page order from the FTC, thecompany and itsowner must"stop making bogus madein the USA" claimsand "come clean about foreign production."

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Also under the order, anyqualifiedMade in USA claims must include "a clear and conspicuous disclosure" about the extent to which the product contains foreign parts, ingredients or components, or processing.

It goes on to read that ifa product isassembled in the U.S., the company must ensure itis last substantially transformed in the U.S.,its principal assembly occurs in the United States, and that its U.S. assembly operations are substantial.

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter@nataliealund.

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Lions Not Sheep fined for 'Made in China' and 'Made in USA tags swap - USA TODAY