An apparel company known for pro-gun and pro-Trump T-shirts is facing a hefty fine from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly falsely claiming its products were made in America when they were actually made in China.
Utah-based Lions Not Sheep Products, LLC, has been fined $211,335 for adding “phony” labels to imported products that said “Made in USA,” the FTC announced in a release. Lions Not Sheep and its owner were accused in an FTC complaint filed in May that it was replacing “Made in China” tags with the “Made in USA” ones.
Lions Not Sheep gained public attention during the pandemic lockdowns for its apparel, which includes shirts that read “give violence a chance,” the pro-Second Amendment slogan “shall not be infringed,” a Terminator-inspired pro-Trump shirt that says “I’ll be back,” and a newer design featuring the hashtag “#FJB,” an abbreviation for the anti-President Joe Biden meme “F–K Joe Biden.”
In addition to the fine, Lions Not Sheep will need to prove any products it claims are “Made in USA” are actually assembled in the states, along with other criteria.
Under the order, Whalen and Lions Not Sheep must stop claiming that products are made in the United States unless they can show that the product’s final assembly or processing—and all significant processing—takes place here and that all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced here,” the FTC said in its statement on the final order.
The FTC’s order also requires Lions Not Sheep to “stop making bogus Made in USA claims” and “come clean about foreign production.”
Under the order, any qualified Made in USA claims must include a clear and conspicuous disclosure about the extent to which the product contains foreign parts, ingredients or components, or processing,” the FTC said. “Finally, to claim that a product is assembled in the United States, Whalen and Lions Not Sheep must ensure that it is last substantially transformed in the United States, its principal assembly takes place in the United States, and U.S. assembly operations are substantial.”
The FTC said that it voted 5-0 to approve the final order against Lions Over Sheep.
The company’s name is derived from a saying inspired by George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice & Fire,” which was adapted into the popular HBO show “Game of Thrones.”
One character, Tywin Lannister, is the head of his prestigious household and utters the line “a lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of the sheep,” while speaking with his son, Jaime.
The Lannister House sigil is a lion and Tywin is scolding Jaime for thinking too much about the opinions of other, in this case, lower class, people.
n a similar meaning, “Lions Not Sheep” is expressing Tywin’s “be a leader, not a follower” sentiment.
The conservative apparel company uses the phrase to show defiance of mask mandates, pandemic lockdowns, and other government intervention and control instances.
