Section 18(g)(2) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 57a(g)(2), authorizes the Commission to exempt a person or class of persons from all or part of a trade regulation rule if the Commission finds that application of the rule is not necessary to prevent the unfair or deceptive acts or practices to which the rule relates. In response to petitions from industry representatives, the Commission has granted exemptions from specific requirements of this part to certain classes of sellers. Some of these exemptions are conditioned upon the performance of alternative actions. The exemptions are limited to specific sections of this part. All other requirements of this part apply to these sellers. The exemptions are summarized in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this appendix. For an explanation of the scope and application of the exemptions, see the formal Commission decisions cited in the authority citation to this part.

(a) Manufacturers of perlite insulation products that have an inverse relationship between R-value and density or weight per square foot are exempted from the requirements in §§ 460.12(b)(2) and 460.13(c)(1) that they disclose minimum weight per square foot for R-values listed on labels and fact sheets. This exemption is conditioned upon the alternative disclosure in labels and fact sheets of the maximum weight per square foot for each R-value required to be listed.

(b) Manufacturers of rigid, flat-roof insulation products used in flat, built-up roofs are exempted from the requirements in § 460.12 that they label these home insulation products.

(c)(1) New home sellers are exempted from:

(i) the requirement in § 460.18(a) that they disclose the type and thickness of the insulation when they make a representation in an advertisement or other promotional material about the R-value of the insulation in a new home;

(ii) the requirement that they disclose in an advertisement or other promotional material the R-value explanatory statement specified in § 460.18(a) or the savings explanatory statement specified in § 460.19(b), conditioned upon the new home sellers alternatively disclosing the appropriate explanatory statement in the sales contract along with the disclosures required by § 460.16;

(iii) the requirement that they make the disclosures specified in § 460.19(c) if they claim that insulation, along with other products in a new home, will cut fuel bills or fuel use; and

(iv) the requirement that they include the reference to fact sheets when they must disclose the R-value explanatory statement or the savings claim explanatory statement under § 460.18(a) or § 460.19(b), respectively.

(2) The exemptions for new home sellers also apply to home insulation sellers other than new home sellers when they participate with a new home seller to advertise and promote the sale of new homes, provided that the primary thrust of the advertisement or other promotional material is the promotion of new homes, and not the promotion of the insulation product.

(d) The requirements in §§ 460.6 through 460.21 do not apply to R-value claims covered by § 460.22.