The Italian Antitrust Authority announced Friday it has ordered two companies associated with businesswoman and fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni to pay at least €1.2million over three years to the children’s charity ‘I Bambini delle Fate.’
The decision follows a probe into misleading advertising related to an Easter egg produced by Dolci Preziosi, which Ferragni endorsed.
This case is one of three involving allegedly misleading charity product endorsements by the 37-year-old. The two companies led by the influencer stated they have decided to clearly separate their commercial and charitable activities moving forward.
The other cases involve a ‘designer’ version of the popular Italian Christmas cake ‘pandoro’ and a Barbie-like doll modeled after her. Last year, the competition watchdog fined companies linked to Ferragni over one million euros and imposed a €420,000 fine on the Italian confectionery company Balocco for unfair commercial practices related to the pandoro sales.
The Antitrust Authority stated that the companies misled customers into believing that purchasing a Ferragni ‘designer’ edition would contribute to a donation to the Regina Margherita pediatric hospital in Turin. However, the €50,000 donation had already been made by Balocco months earlier, while the companies linked to Ferragni allegedly profited over one million euros from the initiative.
Ferragni made a donation to the children’s hospital once the case was brought to light.
