Reebok to Pay Settlement
Over Health Claims
By ANDREW MARTIN
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a $25 million settlement with Reebok International, arguing that the sportswear maker’s claims about the benefits of wearing EasyTone and RunTone shoes were not supported by scientific evidence.
The shoes were introduced in 2009 and used “balance ball inspired technology” that, according to Reebok advertising, strengthened hamstring and calf muscles 11 percent more than other walking shoes. Reebok also asserted that the shoes toned a user’s bottom 28 percent better than other shoes. The shoes cost about $100 a pair.
But in a news conference Wednesday morning, David Vladek, director of the F.T.C.’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said Reebok’s evidence to support those assertions was “wholly insufficient.”
“Consumers expected to get a workout, not to get worked over,” he said.
The market for toning shoes in the United States increased to close to $1 billion in 2010 from $17 million in 2008, the F.T.C. said.
Mr. Vladek would not say whether his agency was pursuing investigations against other makers of toning shoes.
Reebok stood by its shoes, saying that despite the settlement the company did not agree with the FTC’s allegations. “We have received overwhelmingly enthusiastic feedback from thousands of EasyTone customers, and we remain committed to the further development of our EasyTone line of products,” the company said in a statement.
Under the settlement, Reebok is barred from making fitness claims about its shoes unless it provides more substantial scientific evidence.
Thank God someone "stepped" up to the plate against these ridiculous claims. Next stop: Sketchers
