Ralph Lauren Corporation sells shirts that it markets as being made of Pima cotton, or “100% Pima Cotton” under its Polo Ralph Lauren brand. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the shirts contain less Pima cotton than promised, because the fibers are shorter than Pima cotton fibers.
The class for this action is all Florida residents and other persons who bought the product within Florida during the applicable statutes of limitation.
The Textile Fiber Products Act, part of the US Code, requires that fiber composition be accurately disclosed for clothing.
The complaint alleges that the main way of identifying cotton or other fibers is by fiber length: “the longer the cotton fiber, the stronger, softer, and more durable the resulting fabric.” The complaint claims, “This creates incentives for manufacturers to mix cotton byproducts and shorter fiber cotton with Pima cotton to gain additional profits at the expense of consumers.”
ASTM International, which was formerly called the American Society for Testing and Materials, develops voluntary standards for materials, products, and other things. It uses a “Single-Fiber-Test” to measure the length and length distribution of clothing fibers. Pima cotton is known for its extra-long fibers, between approximately 1.2 and 1.44 inches.
Plaintiff Aris Ross bought a Pima cotton shirt at the Polo Ralph Lauren Children’s Factory store in Orlando, Florida. The shirt was said to be made of Pima cotton, or “100% Pima Cotton.”
The complaint alleges, “Laboratory analysis performed of substantially similar products to what [Ross] purchased, in accordance with the ASTM D5103 standard, revealed that between most and all fibers were shorter than 1.200 inches (30.48 mm) and shorter than 1.080 inches (27.432 mm), below the range for Pima cotton.”
The complaint claims that even if a 25% reduction is made to the fiber lengths, only around half the fibers would qualify as long enough to be Pima cotton. The complaint alleges, “These laboratory result support the strong inference that the Product is not made entirely from Pima cotton, but mainly from less expensive shorter cotton fibers and/or cotton byproduct fibers.”
According to the complaint, then, the shirt “was materially less than its value as represented by” the Ralph Lauren Corporation. This suggests that it sold more such products at higher prices than it would have had it had it not misrepresented the kind of cotton used in the shirt.
The counts include violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, breaches of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Polo Ralph Lauren “Pima Cotton” Shirts Florida Complaint
August 12, 2021
Ralph Lauren Corporation sells shirts that it markets as being made of Pima cotton, or “100% Pima Cotton” under its Polo Ralph Lauren brand. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the shirts contain less Pima cotton than promised, because the fibers are shorter than Pima cotton fibers.
Polo Ralph Lauren “Pima Cotton” Shirts Florida ComplaintCase Event History
Polo Ralph Lauren “Pima Cotton” Shirts Florida Complaint
August 12, 2021
Ralph Lauren Corporation sells shirts that it markets as being made of Pima cotton, or “100% Pima Cotton” under its Polo Ralph Lauren brand. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the shirts contain less Pima cotton than promised, because the fibers are shorter than Pima cotton fibers.
Polo Ralph Lauren “Pima Cotton” Shirts Florida Complaint