US Leather Guides — 16 CFR Part 24
- Citation
- 16 CFR Part 24
- Jurisdiction
- US
- Made by
- Federal Trade Commission
- Instrument
- Guidance
- Status
- In force
What it requires (4 obligations)
These Guides apply to the manufacture, sale, distribution, marketing or advertising of all kinds of leather or simulated-leather industry products, enumerated in § 24.0(a) — including trunks, suitcases, travelling bags, brief cases, billfolds, wallets, key cases, coin purses, handbags, shoulder bags, purses, footwear, and belts when not sold as part of a garment, and similar articles.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Leather, footwear, clothing accessories
- Markets
- US
Scope is an enumerated list, and belts carry a condition on their face: in scope only "when not sold as part of a garment". The same belt is inside these Guides sold alone and outside them supplied with a coat. Advertising is named alongside manufacture and sale, so the Guides reach marketing copy directly.
Quoted from 16 CFR § 24.0(a), eCFR snapshot 2026-08-01.
These Guides are administrative interpretations of laws administered by the Federal Trade Commission, addressing the application of section 5 of the FTC Act to industry products, and providing the basis for voluntary compliance. Conduct inconsistent with the positions articulated in the Guides may result in corrective action by the Commission under section 5.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Leather, footwear, clothing accessories
- Markets
- US
Recorded as its own obligation because the legal character of this Part decides what a supplier is arguing about. There is no offence of breaching a Guide. The exposure is section 5 of the FTC Act, and the Guides are the Commission's published view of what section 5 means for these products.
Quoted from § 24.0(b).
It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, the kind, grade, quality, quantity, material content, thickness, finish, serviceability, durability, price, origin, size, weight, ease of cleaning, construction, manufacture, processing, distribution, or any other material aspect of an industry product.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Leather, footwear, clothing accessories
- Markets
- US
The list is long and closes with "any other material aspect", so it is illustrative rather than exhaustive. "Directly or by implication" is what reaches imagery, styling and adjacency rather than only stated claims — a product photographed to read as leather can misrepresent without a word being written.
Quoted from § 24.1, "Deception (general)".
It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the composition of any industry product or part of it, and to use the unqualified term "leather", or other unqualified terms suggestive of leather, unless the product so described is composed in all substantial parts of leather. Where all or part of a product is made of non-leather material that appears to be leather, that fact or the general nature of the material should be disclosed — for example "Not leather", "Imitation leather", "Simulated leather", "Vinyl", "Vinyl coated fabric" or "Plastic".
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Leather, footwear, clothing accessories
- Markets
- US
The test is "in all substantial parts", not a majority and not a marketing judgement. For footwear the Guides define three parts in a footnote — the upper, the lining and sock, and the outersole — so a shoe with a leather upper and a synthetic lining does not carry the unqualified term. The disclosure examples are given in the text, which makes them the safe wordings rather than one option among many.
Quoted from § 24.2 and § 24.2(a), including the footnote defining the three parts of footwear.
This is a register, not advice. It records what an instrument says and when it applies. Whether it applies to a particular company, product or shipment is a question for somebody who knows that business, and the answer is frequently not what the summary above would suggest.
Report incorrect information on this page
Tell us what is wrong and we will check it against the source. Reports are private, are never published, and go to an editor rather than into a comment thread.