Walmart

TINA.org investigations into Walmart have revealed that the retail giant repeatedly engaged in false and deceptive Made in USA marketing on its website, and used undisclosed stealth marketing directed at young children in advergames to sell products.

(TINA.org also objected — as amicus curiae — to a class-action settlement that sought to resolve claims filed against Walmart and others for falsely labeling glucosamine supplements as able to rebuild cartilage and support joint comfort without competent scientific evidence to support such claims. To read more about that action, click here.)

Highlights

Sent warning letter to Walmart
Filed complaint with FTC
FTC investigated Walmart's marketing and sent closing letter to company
Sent additional letters to FTC regarding Walmart's ongoing deceptive MUSA practices
Sent letter to CARU and Walmart regarding deceptive Walmart advergame on Roblox
Walmart removed advergame from Roblox

Brands

equate

Great Value

Onn power banks

Parent’s Choice

Walmart ad

Timeline

2023

March 27

TINA.org, along with Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy, National Association of Consumer Advocates, and Common Sense Media, respond to CARU’s letter expressing ongoing concern about its decision regarding Walmart Universe of Play, as well as its COPPA Safe Harbor Program in general.

Response to CARU

As of March 10

Walmart removes its Universe of Play from Roblox search results and locked the experience on the platform so that children cannot access this undisclosed advergame.

January 31

CARU responds to advocacy groups’ letter regarding Walmart Universe of Play and stands by its decision to admit the advergame into its COPPA Safe Harbor Program.

CARU Response

January 23

TINA.org, along with Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy, and National Association of Consumer Advocates, sends a letter to the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) regarding Walmart Universe of Play.

Letter to CARU

2021

February

Following TINA.org’s complaint to the FTC, Walmart quietly removes a link on its website to “Find American-Made Products on Walmart.com” that led to nearly 2,000 “made in usa” listings and replaces it with a link to a company blog published in 2019 about a woman who found work at a U.S. factory.

January 19

After finding that Walmart is still advertising products as Made in the USA when they contain imported parts, TINA.org sends a new complaint to the FTC urging it to reopen its investigation and take appropriate enforcement action.

2017

Walmart changes its Made in USA Origin Disclaimer present on every product page. The disclaimer on each page is now more general and states: “While we aim to provide accurate product information, it is provided by manufacturers, suppliers and others, and has not been verified by us. See our disclaimer.” The sentence then links to a pop-up, which states, in relevant part: “Product packaging and material may contain more and/or different information from the website, including the product description, country of origin, nutrition, ingredient, allergen and other information. Always read labels, warnings, and directions and other information provided with the product before using or consuming a product. For additional information about a product, please contact the manufacturer.”

2016

June 28

After reinvestigating Walmart.com and finding that it still contains Made in the USA misrepresentations (despite Walmart’s numerous assurances that it had fully corrected the issue last year), TINA.org sends a complaint letter to FTC.

2015

November 12

TINA.org sends a letter to the FTC regarding Walmart.com’s ineffective Made in the USA disclaimer.

October 23

A review of Walmart’s website by TINA.org reveals that, despite the company’s removal of the vast majority of false and deceptive Made in the USA claims, some misrepresentations still exist, prompting TINA.org to alert the company, as well as the FTC.

October 20

The FTC — which investigated Walmart after receiving TINA.org’s complaint — notifies the company that it will not be pursuing further action due to Walmart’s assurance that it has removed all U.S.-origin representations from its website.

July 14

Due to Walmart’s failure to fully correct the false and deceptive Made in the USA representations on its website, TINA.org sends a complaint letter to the FTC urging it to take action against the company.

June 25

Walmart informs TINA.org that the USA misrepresentations on the company’s website will be corrected within two weeks.

June 24

Walmart’s Vice President of U.S. Sourcing sends a letter to TINA.org stating, among other things, that the company is taking steps to ensure that the misrepresentations are corrected and that it is also “undertaking a more extensive quality assurance review to eliminate these kinds of coding errors in the future.”

June 22

TINA.org sends a warning letter to Walmart’s CEO, General Counsel, and Chief Marketing Officer, alerting them to the issues uncovered by TINA.org’s investigation and requesting that the company confirm in writing by June 26, 2015 that Walmart intends to remove from its website all false and deceptive USA representations.