Some WYSIWYG Editors put some empty content in the editor even when the field never receives foxus. I noticed that JCE using DIV tags adds <div> </div> to the field.
Even when I clear it by turning off the editor, if I just open and save the product again, the field is populated unless I again, turn off the WYSIWYG editor and clear the field.
For a product with no description, that leaves the description label and hr line on the page with no content. I wonder if it would be beneficial to have a toggle checkbox to display or hide the description rather than test for whether or not it is empty.