J Brand Jeans Faces ‘Made in Calif., USA’ Class Action Lawsuit

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Designer jeans manufacturer, J Brand, is facing accusations from a California consumer that its “Made in California, USA” claims are false since jeans holding that label did not comply with California law that requires all components within the jeans be made entirely in this country.

Lead plaintiff and Los Angeles resident, Dolla Elsumeri alleges that when she purchased J Brand “Skinny Stretch” style of jeans she relied on the retailer’s “Made in California, USA” representation in her decision to buy the clothing, thinking she was supporting U.S. jobs and California’s economy. She claims that had she known the apparel was made with foreign components, she would not have purchased the jeans.

According to the J Brand jeans class action lawsuit, by labeling apparel products with the “Made in California, USA” claim, J Brand allegedly misled and deceptively concealed the true facts of the origin of their products. The complaint contends that the jeans contain more than 5 percent of foreign made parts including denim, thread, rivets, buttons, and zipper components.

“Consumers must be able to trust that products, including the component parts, that are claimed to be ‘Made in California, USA’ are not in fact made or produced in foreign countries,” the lawsuit stated. “This is a material fact in many consumers’ buying decisions, as they believe they are supporting American companies or jobs, or just generally being patriotic by buying American.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines provide that “Made in the USA” or similar claims mean that “all significant parts, processing, and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin.” Not all component parts, however, need to be made in the United States. Under the FTC guidelines, a product may still be labeled “Made in USA” if the imported component parts make up a “negligible” portion of the final product.

However, California’s requirements are more stringent and prohibit “Made in USA” labeling where “the merchandise or any article, unit, or part thereof, has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States.”

What constitutes “substantially made” and what constitutes a “part” has been construed broadly by California courts. One court said tools were not “Made in USA” because some components “underwent manufacturing processes abroad” and “the foreign inputs into the tools and their component working parts were direct, significant, and not far removed from the finished product.”

In other words, California’s “Made in USA” labeling law is stricter than federal law because it requires that 100 percent of the materials used to make the product be American made.

Elsumeri is seeking certification for a Class of California consumers to pay for financial damages, legal costs and fees, as well as require an injunction on J Brand’s allegedly deceptive marketing tactics. The plaintiff also wants J Brand to make a donation to a consumer-protection or truth-in-advertising non-profit.

The proposed Class is represented by Ramin Kermani-Najad, Mohamad Ahmad and Hani Ganji of Kermani LLP.

The J Brand Jeans “Made in California, USA” Class Action Lawsuit is Elsumeri v. J Brand Inc., et al., Case No. BC612583 in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.