Tommy Hilfiger to Pay $300,000 to End Probe

Tommy Hilfiger Corp., which sells clothes and accessories through more than 2,000 stores, agreed to pay $300,000 to end a 3-year-old Federal Trade Commission investigation into the care labels on its clothing. The company said it also will enhance its record-keeping about garment care and set up a toll-free number for consumers who have questions about how to clean their Tommy Hilfiger clothes. The settlement is designed to resolve complaints by dry cleaners that some of the company’s clothing bled or faded when subjected to high temperatures. “While the FTC was unable to confirm any specific problems with our garment-care labeling, we agreed to settle the matter in order to avoid the time and expense of litigation,” Tommy Hilfiger Chief Executive Joel Horowitz said. The $300,000 civil penalty is the largest for an alleged violation of the FTC’s 1971 Care Labeling Rule.