ERASURE OF BRANDS.

Evening Star, Issue 22881, 12 February 1938, Page 2

ERASURE OF BRANDS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —We desire to draw the attention of the public to a practice which is al! present in evidence amongst various sfores, and which, in our opinion, is reprehensible. We refer to the erasion of brands of the country of origin from articles sold, especially where these articles are made in Japan. Unless a very close inspection is made, a member of the public buying them has no means of knowing where they are made, and could quite easily be led into believing they are British-made. Only this morning, at a leading chain store in Wellington, the writer purchased a cup, plate, and saucer, and alongside the display was a show card which definitely said: “English cup, plate, and saucer.”' However, •if a close inspection is made of the cup it will be seen it was originally stamped “ Made in Japan,” but this stamp has been taken out by acid. This purchase was made following a complaint received by this association from a member of the public who bought a similar article entirely under the impression that it was made in England. We strongly recommend the public when making purchases closely to inspect every article to ensure that the brands have not been erased, as they are quite likely to have the same experience as the person who made the complaint to us. "We feel that the public should be ■warned against the practice, which applies not only to crockery, but to certain other articles, and which wo believe is quite common. We might also say that it is our intention, if we receive any similar complaints, to lay an information under the appropriate Act against any firm misleading the public in a similar way. We are writing this letter as a means of protecting the public and also the English manufacturers whom we represent.—Yours faithfully, N. H. Russei.t,, Secretary, United Kingdom Manufacturers and New Zealand Representives’ Association, Inc. Wellington, February 10.