25 million to settle false claims about its toning shoes

Reebok International Ltd. will refund $25 million to customers who bought its popular toning shoes, in one of the largest settlements ever reached between a company and the federal government over deceptive advertising claims. A complaint filed yesterday by the Federal Trade Commission said the Canton footwear maker ads frequently featured toned, scantily-clad, and sometimes nude women who falsely said that the shoes had been shown to tighten muscles. As part of the settlement, Reebok is barred from using such claims to market its toning merchandise. Toning shoes - sneakers designed with unstable soles so leg muscles have to work harder to maintain balance during everyday activities - were the fastest growing segment in the footwear industry last year, with sales soaring to $1.1 billion from $350 million in 2009, according to Matt Powell, an analyst with SportsOne Source. The sneakers were sold at a premium of roughly $100 a pair, though prices have dropped significantly in recent months because of an inventory glut. In one ad cited by the FTC and shown on television and the Internet, a model, wearing little clothing, said, EasyTone shoes not only look fantastic, they help make your legs and butt look great, too. For example, EasyTone ads said the footwear was proven to improve muscle tone and strength by 28 percent and work hamstring and calf muscles 11 percent harder than regular sneakers. want all marketers to know they must have substantiation for their claims prior to making them, Bungo said. Reebok said yesterday that it stands behind the toning technology. does not mean we agree with the FTC allegations; we do not, the company said in a statement. have received overwhelmingly enthusiastic feedback from thousands of EasyTone customers, and we remain committed to the further development of our EasyTone products. Skechers, the largest toning brand with about half the market, disclosed in a securities filing last month that the FTC is reviewing its advertising claims. And in a lawsuit filed by a California woman, New Balance is accused of deceiving customers by promising its toning shoes create more sculpted legs than traditional walking sneakers. The settlement covers toning shoes and apparel, including EasyTone, RunTone, TrainTone, JumpTone, SimplyTone, and SlimTone, purchased on or after Dec. 5, 2008. Consumers who submit refund requests in excess of $200 may be asked to provide proof of purchase. During the past year, fitness and medical professionals have raised concerns that the shoes could do more harm than good. A study released in 2010 by the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit, concluded that the shoes failed to live up to fitness promises made by manufacturers. do want to believe in an effortless approach to becoming fit, Cedric X. Bryant, the council chief science officer, said yesterday. the claims that customers were inundated with - that these shoes helped burn calories and produced a firmer butt - simply were not supported by the research. It not a sexy message, but getting fit requires a combination of regular activity, sensible eating, and making lifestyle changes. Cindy Pezza, a podiatric assistant in Stoughton who oversees her office therapeutic shoe program, said she continues to see patients who have worn toning shoes for several months and complain of pain and tightness in the heel, calf, and Achilles tendon. Pezza purchased her own pair of EasyTone sneakers, but set them aside after two months. She is not sure whether she will apply for a refund, but doesn plan on wearing the toning sneakers any time soon. didn feel stable in them, and I didn really see any difference, Pezza said. buy them because they saw the commercial with the girl in the little short shorts and long legs. But she didn get those from wearing the sneakers. She runs 10 miles a day. I knew that. I couldn run three miles in them.

Clarks Shoes

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3 Crucial Elements You Need To Know on How to Avoid
Going Broke Online.
By Patrick Ravi
global-ibiz/webtreasures.htm

Yes! Dot mania is dead! and buried! While this might
be so, it is crucial to know that, building your own
presence successfully online is still within your reach.

While the naysayers are still crying out loud why it
can't be done. the FACT...remains that ordinary people
like you and I are still MAKING IT HAPPEN everyday.

But why it so that, when you take an average of 100 people
who get into the bandwagon to succeed online.... 95 will
fail and quit...4-5 will make a reasonable living online..
and 2 will get stinking rich.

Even if these figures are not very encouraging, you
must understand there are some valid reasons why this
is so.

A vital point for you to note is that there are some great
similarities when you do a comparison on doing business
Online and Offline.One thing for sure, it goes without
saying " Nothing happens by chance." The fallacy that by
just placing a Web site on the WWW and hoping for it to
generate mega success online is still very much a fable.
Some call it hype!

This is probably one of the main reason why many budding
online entrepreneurs soon or later go broke online. The
truth remains that anyone who wants to get the desired
results to succeed online must include three important
elements and they are:

1. Education
2. Time
3. Money

Before you even dare to venture on your own, to make a
presence online, ask yourself:

Are you willing to educate yourself on the different
aspects of Internet Marketing' Let us now list down
some of the key elements that every online marketer
must know to become a successful netpreneur.

The very obvious would be, knowing how to operated your
computer effectively. This may sound very basic and yet
this is what destroys a lot of people. You must always be
prepared for the unavoidable and the unexpected.

Just to give you an account of our own experience:
In our own quest to succeed online we had to overcome
insurmountable challenges. But the most frustrating was
when we had to lose 2 years of work, in two hard disk in
just matter of minutes. Hey, it does make your wonder
whether to continue or to quit. But when you know how to
manage and protect your computer effectively, it in turn
helps you to save time, money and not forgetting
frustration.

So what are some of the other vital knowledge to
acquire for one to keep ahead of their competition'

The List:
Web designing and some knowledge of HTML, understand how
the Internet works, how to engage in effective e-mail
marketing, Ezine Publishing, how to develop an opt-in
mailing list, search engine optimization, E-book creations
and viral marketing, promotions and advertising online,
joint venture, testimonial marketing, How to write
effective Net copies and how to develop a business plan.

The next question that you need to ask yourself would be:
How much time am I willing to devote towards my business
online'
While we often associated an online business with
automation. You will discover that for a lot of people
what this means is, just uploading a web site and using an
auto responder to hand out a few messages. As you
can see from the list above, it is much more than that.

The last question that you need to ask yourself is:
What is my financial commitment' While the Internet
offers free resources, free software, free Web sites and
others .The question you should ask yourself is, should
I use them' The answer is Yes and No.

Yes, if you are using them for a hobby or as a
non-business Web site. No, if you want to make a
professional presence online. With an exception of a
few free resources, you will soon find, that you
will not get the respect and credibility you need when
you use many of these freebies.

When you look at free resources, you will soon
realize that, there is nothing really Free online.

There is always a small and at times a large price to
pay. Take free web sites for example, many are used as
tools by the owners to leverage their time and effort.
The banners or text links that appear quite permanently
are actually used to promote the freebie giver's product
or services. You may in the long run, end up losing
traffic that you worked hard for.

In closing, it is vital to remember that one should
treat one`s online business as a real business. The
key words to remember are: keep promoting and testing.
And not forgetting the simple but "profound truth"
that "Hard Work Still Pays".

Patrick Ravi is an E-Marketing Consultant for the Asia
Pacific Rim global-ibiz/webtreasures.htm
Get his Free Online course that reveals his success
secrets on how to turn your computer into a CyberCash
Register, all on a shoe string budget at:
global-ibiz/freecourse.htm