Ralph Lauren Sells Shirts Masquerading as 100% High Quality Cotton, Class Action Alleges

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Ralph Lauren Pima Cotton Class Action Overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Aris Ross has filed a class action lawsuit against Ralph Lauren Corporation over the quality of cotton in some of its products.
• Why: Ross says she bought a shirt labeled as being made of Pima cotton for approximately $40 in a store in Orlando; however, a laboratory analysis showed the fibers in the shirt did not actually meet the standards for Pima cotton.
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Florida.

Luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren falsely sells shirts that it claims are made of 100% high-quality cotton when the fabric is really mixed with cheaper cottons, a new nationwide class action lawsuit claims.

Plaintiff Aris Ross filed the class action complaint against Ralph Lauren Corporation last Thursday in a Florida federal court, alleging violations of state and federal law. 

Ross said she bought a shirt labeled as being made of Pima cotton for approximately $40 in a store in Orlando. She said Ralph Lauren makes various types of shirts purporting to be “100% Pima Cotton” under the Polo Ralph Lauren brand. 

However, she alleges the products contain less of the high-quality cotton than promised. 

The cotton is meant to have fibers of between approximately 1.2 and 1.44 inches. But a laboratory analysis performed of similar products to what she purchased revealed that most of the fibers in the shirt were shorter than 1.08 inches, “below the range for Pima cotton.” 

“These laboratory results 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,” Ross says.

“No reasonable consumer will expect that clothing advertised as containing ‘100% Pima Cotton’ or ‘Pima Cotton’ would contain significantly less Pima cotton than promised.”

She says the value of the product purchased was materially less than its value as represented by Ralph Lauren, and that the company sold more of the shirts and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this “misconduct,” resulting in “additional profits at the expense of consumers.”

Ross points out that, based on public financial disclosures, Ralph Lauren’s revenue in 2020 in North America was approximately $2 billion. 

She’s suing under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and for breaches of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, unjust enrichment.

“Defendant did not disclose accurate and truthful fiber content tags on its Pima cotton products, or on its labeling, and upon information and belief, failed to maintain required records substantiating the fiber content of the Products at each stage of the manufacturing process,” she says.

Ross is looking to represent all Florida residents who bought the pima cotton products. She’s seeking certification of the class, damages, costs and expenses. 

This is not the only class action lawsuit Ralph Lauren is involved in. Earlier this year, Ralph Lauren filed a class action lawsuit alleging it should be entitled to insurance coverage for the financial losses the clothing corporation endured during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Do you expect your clothes to be made of the fabrics listed on their labels? Let us know in the comments! 

Ross is represented by Joel Oster of the Law Offices of Howard W. Rubenstein and Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates, P.C. 

The Ralph Lauren Pima Cotton Class Action Lawsuit is Ross et al., v. Ralph Lauren Corporation, Case No. 6:21-cv-01295 in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida.

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