Maybe those wet wipes weren't meant to be flushed.
Nice-Pak, which makes a variety of personal wipes, has agreed to stop advertising that some products are safe to flush, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday. Under the FTC settlement, Nice-Pak cannot assert the wipes are suitable for sewer and septic systems without substantiation under threat of civil penalty.
The FTC alleges that Nice-Pak misrepresented certain products by claiming they would break up shortly after flushing.
"The evidence didn't back up Nice-Pak's claims that their wipes were safe to flush," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a release. "If you claim a product is flushable, it needs to flush in the real world, without clogging household plumbing or sewer and septic systems."
Costco, CVS, Target and BJ's Wholesale Club are among the retailers that sold the wipes, the FTC said. Nice-Pak provided the means for vendors to make similar false assertions, the agency added.
Nice-Pak did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
IN-DEPTH
-- Jacob Pramuk
