New Balance sued over toning AD

denny123 · Wysłany: Pon 4:18, 14 Mar 2011 Temat postu: New Balance sued over toning AD

New Balance sued over toning AD
The complaint, filed Monday in US District Court in Boston, is seeking class-action status and damages in excess of $5 million on behalf of a California woman, Bistra Pashamova, and other people who have allegedly been harmed by New Balance.
New Balance, which recently launched a multimillion-dollar campaign for toning shoes, is one of several major sneaker companies that are facing class-action lawsuits from consumers.Toning shoes are designed with an unstable sole so leg muscles have to work harder to maintain balance during everyday activities. They are one of the fastest-growing segments in the footwear industry; sales were expected to soar last year to roughly $1.5 billion.
New Balance has promoted its toning shoes with claims that they increase muscle activation by at least 27 percent and increase calorie burn by up to 10 percent with each step, using either a rounded or flexible spring sole.
But a study last summer by the nonprofit American Council on Exercise found that toning shoes failed to live up to claims made by several manufacturers. Reports of injuries have also raised concerns that the shoes, which cost roughly $100 a pair, could do more harm than good.
Pashamova alleges that New Balance’s promises of health benefits are “nothing more than deceptive marketing tools’’ and cites as evidence the study from the American Council on Exercise, which measured heart rate, kilocalories burned, oxygen consumption, and muscle activity in users wearing toning shoes and regular athletic sneakers.