Pro-MAGA Clothing Company Fined for 'Phony Made in USA Labels': 'Come Clean,' Says FTC
Stefani Reynolds/getty
A conservative, pro-MAGA clothing company has been fined and ordered to "stop making bogus Made in USA claims" on its products.
Lions Not Sheep Products, LLC, and its owner Sean Whalen have been ordered to "come clean" about its production abroad and pay $211,335 to the Federal Trades Commission (FTC) "for falsely claiming that its imported apparel is Made in USA," according to a July 28 press release.
The order came more than two months after the FTC announced allegations of "phony Made in USA labels" being placed onto the company's clothing "imported from China and other countries."
"In most cases, the products advertised using these claims consist of wholly imported shirts and hats with limited finishing work performed in the United States," the FTC said on May 11.
Lions Not Sheep did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
According to the commission's original complaint, Whalen and Lions Not Sheep "removed tags disclosing that the merchandise was made in a foreign country" before printing "Made in USA" on the neckline of certain shirts between May and October of 2021.
In October 2020, Whalen shared a video of himself on social media stating that he "could conceal the fact that his shirts are made in China by ripping out the origin tags and replacing them with tags stating that the merchandise was made in the United States," according to the FTC.
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Many of the products sold by Lions Not Sheep contain conservative and pro-MAGA messaging, including phrases such as "Let's Go Brandon" and "#FJB."
On social media, the company claims to "show people it's possible to live your life as a LION, Not a sheep," as noted by the original FTC announcement.
The Lions Not Sheep's website now says the company is allowed to use a label stating "Produced In The USA with Imported Materials" based on its current practices.
The Utah-based company claims to source its products "from multiple domestic and international vendors and suppliers," such as Korea, China, Colombia and Bangladesh.
Its website says the company's products "are purchased internationally" through a U.S.-based wholesaler, which ships them to the country "to be printed, embroidered, laser engraved, tagged, and bagged."
The items are then allegedly shipped to the Lions Not Sheep headquarters in Utah, where orders are subsequently fulfilled.
Lions Not Sheep says the goal of its practice is to "keep as many jobs as possible inside the USA."
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In an Instagram post shared by Lions Not Sheep one day after the FTC's May 11 announcement, Whalen said he is "proud to have built a company" that "employs dozens of hard working Americans."
"Our T-Shirts are Printed in the USA! Our hats are embroidered in the USA! GOD BLESS AMERICA!🇺🇸," he wrote alongside a black image with the word "Facts" written over the word "Feelings."
In May, Sam Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said "American consumers have the right to know the truth about where their clothes and accessories are made."
"Companies that slap phony Made in USA labels on imported goods are cheating their customers and undercutting honest businesses," he added, "and we will hold those companies and their executives accountable for their misconduct."
