Want Kardashian curves? Don’t look to Skechers for fix [Video]
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Turns out wearing a pair of Skechers Shape-ups won’t make you a Kardashian -- and the shoe company will pay $40 million to put such suggestions to rest.
Skechers USA will pay that sum to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it couldn’t back up claims its Shape-ups toning shoes would help people lose weight and strengthen their butt, leg and stomach muscles.
If you bought a pair, you’re now eligible for a refund.
The shoes were endorsed by Kim Kardashian and other celebrities. Consumers could have easily inferred that wearing Shape-ups would give one Kardashian-like contours.
The settlement also involves the company’s Resistance Runner, Toners and Tone-ups shoes. Skechers made deceptive claims about those shoes too, the FTC said.
Skechers advertised its $100 Shape-ups as a fitness tool, with a curved bottom that prompts wearers to “use more energy with every step.”
Hopefully, other companies will take this lesson to heart: There might be a sucker born every minute, but lying about a product’s merits crosses both an ethical and a legal line.
And props to the FTC for keeping watch on America’s booties. That’s not a part of the body where anyone wants to administer snake oil.
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