FTC - Did You Buy Reebok EasyTone or RunTone Shoes or Apparel? Refund.

Did You Buy Reebok EasyTone or RunTone Shoes or Apparel? You may be eligible for a refund. Heh.  No, really?  Did you get sucked in by those commercials?  Admit it.

The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, charged Reebok with making claims about EasyTone and RunTone shoes that the company couldn’t support.  According to the FTC, Reebok claimed that using these products would strengthen and tone leg and butt muscles.

To settle the case, Reebok has agreed to pay $25 million for refunds to people who bought Reebok toning shoes or apparel. 

And then, we giggle, and say, TOLD YOU SO!  I absolutely remember blogging about these ads when they came out -- but I can't find the post.  (Here's to using tags.) 

Here, let her do it for you:

Please do not depend on your sneakers to flatten your ass.

FTC -

Reebok to Pay $25 Million in Customer Refunds To Settle FTC Charges of Deceptive Advertising of EasyTone and RunTone Shoes

Settlement Order Prohibits Reebok from Making Unsupported Claims that ‘Toning Shoes’ Strengthen, Tone Muscles

In its ongoing effort to stem overhyped advertising claims, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Reebok International Ltd. has agreed to resolve charges that the company deceptively advertised “toning shoes," which it claimed would provide extra tone and strength to leg and buttock muscles.  Reebok will pay $25 million as part of the settlement agreement.  The funds will be made available for consumer refunds either directly from the FTC or through a court-approved class action lawsuit.   Consumers who bought Reebok toning shoes or toning apparel can submit a claim here.

“The FTC wants national advertisers to understand that they must exercise some responsibility and ensure that their claims for fitness gear are supported by sound science," said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. 

Consumers should carefully evaluate advertising claims for work-out gear and exercise equipment.  For more information see:  How's that Work-out Working Out?  Tips on Buying Fitness Gear.

Reebok’s EasyTone walking shoes and RunTone running shoes have retailed for $80 to $100 a pair, while EasyTone flip flops have retailed for about $60 a pair.  Ads for the shoes claimed that sole technology featuring pockets of moving air creates “micro instability" that tones and strengthens muscles as you walk or run.

According to the FTC complaint, Reebok made unsupported claims in advertisements that walking in its EasyTone shoes and running in its RunTone running shoes strengthen and tone key leg and buttock (gluteus maximus) muscles more than regular shoes.  The FTC’s complaint also alleges that Reebok falsely claimed that walking in EasyTone footwear had been proven to lead to 28 percent more strength and tone in the buttock muscles, 11 percent more strength and tone in the hamstring muscles, and 11 percent more strength and tone in the calf muscles than regular walking shoes.

Beginning in early 2009, Reebok made its claims through print, television, and Internet advertisements, the FTC alleged.  The claims also appeared on shoe boxes and displays in retail stores.  One television ad featured a very fit woman explaining to an audience the benefits of Reebok EasyTone toning shoes.  She picks up a shoe from a display and points to a chart showing the muscles that benefit from use of the shoes, while a video camera continues to focus on her buttocks.  She says the shoes are proven to strengthen hamstrings and calves by up to 11 percent, and that they tone the buttocks “up to 28 percent more than regular sneakers, just by walking."             

Under the settlement, Reebok is barred from:

• making claims that toning shoes and other toning apparel are effective in strengthening muscles, or that using the footwear will result in a specific percentage or amount of muscle toning or strengthening, unless the claims are true and backed by scientific evidence;
• making any health or fitness-related efficacy claims for toning shoes and other toning apparel unless the claims are true and backed by scientific evidence; and 
• misrepresenting any tests, studies, or research results regarding toning shoes and other toning apparel.

 FTC

Do not feel bad for Reebok, they made $340 million dollars in Easytone sales last year.

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WOW!!! Great info, Thank you so much for posting this.

I'll give you this - - those puppies may not TONE....but they are HEAVEN for a girl with plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. 

I ADORE mine (and my Skechers Shape-Ups, too!) simply because the foot issues I had made exercise a nightmare.  I decided to give both the Run Tone and the Skechers a chance  after realizing my Fitflops were fantastic for the foot issues.

And, I haven't regretted it a single day since!   I never really expected any toning benefits - - but loved the fact that my feet didn't feel like I was being stabbed with ice picks while working out!

Now - - I'm just waiting for the day that someone tells me that M&Ms having toning properties.  THAT's my dream!

They may not work for some people... but they worked for me.
My but got bigger,,, (but then that was the idea in the first place).
I can really feel the difference when I walk in my plain snickers and my shape ups.  More stretch, more work for the butt area... ( I used to have a flat ass - now - it is round.)
But I will get the refund  if they give me... lol

I have the run tones, not because of the claim of what they can do but because they are comfortable and they give my weak ankles good support! My legs and butt are still jiggly though, lol

This is what I say: if you bought these shoes thinking they would work out your legs and muscles  as good as going to the gym, then you deserve to be ripped off.

If you bought them to fix back problems or something like that, that is a different story.

Thanks... I have a pair of Run Tones :)

Get you money!

Can I meet you on Lawn Guy Land?

I'd big-puffy-heart LOVE to meet you on Lawn Guy Land... you'll be there????  :D

I just got back from running some errands and wanted to read through the band post you posted. Am I blind or is it gone ?