Costco Class Action Protests Kirkland Boxer Marketing

A customer has filed a Costco class action lawsuit over claims that the wholesaler’s Kirkland signature brand Comfort Fit 96 percent Pima cotton boxers contain far less Pima cotton than advertised.

The Costco Pima cotton class action lawsuit was filed by Paula Damasco who says she purchased a blue set and a black set of 96 percent Pima cotton boxers from a Costco in Florida.

Allegedly, the product’s labeling and advertising stated that the boxers are made with 96 percent Pima cotton and Damasco based her purchasing decision on that label.

However, the products reportedly do not live up to the labeling because they contain less than 80 percent Pima cotton.

Damasco states that the packaging for the boxers does not match the permanent tag affixed to the boxers. She says that, though the packaging states that the boxers contain 96 percent Pima cotton, the permanent tag only states that the products contain much less than 96 percent Pima cotton.

According to Damasco, this permanent tag is not visible at the time of purchase.

The Costco boxer class action lawsuit asserts that customers have no way of determining that the boxers are not as advertised. She says that consumers could only rely on the boxers’ packaging to make their purchasing decision. Damasco argues that the only other way to determine the true composition of the product is to have samples of the boxers tested in a laboratory, which is not possible for the average consumer.

According to Damasco, she did take the boxer sets to a laboratory after she purchased them. Damasco says that she was only able to determine the reality of the boxers’ composition by testing it in an ISO certified laboratory after purchase.

Allegedly, the laboratory testing revealed that both of her Costco “96 percent Pima cotton” boxer sets contained less than 80 percent Pima cotton.

Heading off counter arguments that the product could have at once been correctly labeled by the company, Damasco states that the product had not been altered between its manufacturing and point of sale to reduce the amount of cotton in it. 

Damasco also asserts that Costco knew or should have known what its boxer sets were made out of, yet intentionally misled consumers in the interest of its own profits.

Based on this, the Costco boxer class action lawsuit says that the company received unjust enrichment from the sale of the boxer sets.

The Costco Pima cotton class action lawsuit asserts that customers prefer Pima cotton over other kinds of cotton for its softness and durability.

Damasco notes that she and other customers are willing to pay a premium for the product, believing it to be made with high-quality components. However, she says that she and other customers were misled by Costco into paying a premium price for lower quality clothing.

The Costco class action lawsuit argues that Costco customers were financially injured because, had they known that the boxers were not made of 96 percent Pima cotton, they would not have paid as much for them or would not have purchased them at all.

Damasco notes that she was financially injured in the amount of the difference between a correctly labeled, inferior boxer set and the cost of the Costco boxer set. 

The plaintiff states that she was denied the benefit of the bargain of her purchase because she was given an inferior product to that which she bought.

Damasco asserts that, to her and to other customers who were also misled, the boxes sets are “valueless’ because they did not obtain the advertised amount of Pima cotton. 

In addition to claiming past financial injury, Damasco also seeks damages for future injury, saying that she and other customers will continue to be financially injured if Costco is permitted to continue advertising its boxer sets in a deceptive manner. 

First filed in a Florida’s Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court in and for Collier Beach County, the Costco boxer set class action lawsuit has since been removed to Florida federal court. 

What qualities do you value in the clothes that you buy? Do you prefer some materials over others? Share your opinions in the comments below. 

Damasco is represented by Howard W. Rubinstein of the Law Office of Howard W. Rubinstein. 

The Costco Pima Cotton Boxer Class Action Lawsuit is Damasco v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, Case No. 2:20-cv-00260, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

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