Welspun Class Action Says Bed Linens Are Not 100% Egyptian Cotton

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A class action lawsuit alleges that textile giant Welspun India Ltd. and its American counterpart Welspun USA Inc. have marketed their bed linens as being “Egyptian cotton” when in fact that was false and deceptive advertising.

Although the company’s corporate slogan is “your comfort is our commitment,” the class action complaint contends that “Defendants’ commitment is to their own profits rather than the consumer.”

The Welspun false advertising class action lawsuit claims that Egyptian cotton “commands a premium in the market because it is perceived as a higher quality.”

The complaint states that Egyptian cotton is “characterized by unusually fine, long silky fibers” and can be used to make sheets with high thread counts.

Originally discovered in the 1820s, the complaint asserts that Egyptian cotton gained popularity worldwide in the 1860s when the U.S. Civil War limited the amount of U.S. cotton being exported.

So for 150 years, Egyptian cotton has been seen as high-quality and has been used to sell premium textiles, according to the complaint.

However, now true Egyptian cotton production has been limited. The class action cites the U.S. Department of Agriculture prediction that this year Egypt will produce one-third of the cotton it did 10 years ago.

Because true Egyptian cotton is harder to obtain, the official Cotton Egyptian Association has stated that perhaps as many as 90 percent of the products that say they are made from Egyptian cotton really are not.

The “Egyptian” cotton false advertising class action lawsuit claims that Welspun has admitted that its high-end bed linens sold at Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, and other stores are not actually made from true Egyptian cotton, despite what they claim on the packaging.

According to the complaint, Target investigated the Welspun products it sold under the Fieldcrest label, and found that “Welspun substituted another type of non-Egyptian cotton when producing these bed linens between August 2014 and July 2016,” and subsequently terminated its relationship with Welspun.

Despite acknowledging its fault, the complaint asserts that Welspun is still selling bed linens as “100% Egyptian cotton” on its own website.

Other products falsely advertised by Welspun include “Crowning Touch” 500 or 800 thread count, “100% Egyptian cotton” sheets sold at Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Plaintiff Meghan Abbott states that she purchased “Fieldcrest Luxury Made in India 100% Egyptian cotton” bed sheets from a Target store in North Carolina. Abbott claims that she bought the sheets believing that they were 100 percent Egyptian cotton and therefore “were higher quality, softer, more durable bed linens.”

Abbott seeks to represent a Class of all persons in the United States who purchased false “100% Egyptian cotton” linens manufactured or distributed by defendants.

The class action asks for restitution and damages, including punitive damages. The complaint also requests an injunction stopping Welspun from continuing its deceptive advertising.

Abbott is represented by Jason A. Zweig, Robert B. Carey, and Leonard W. Aragon of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and Stuart M. Paynter of The Paynter Law Firm PLLC.

The Welspun “Egyptian” Cotton False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Meghan Abbot v. Welspun India Ltd., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-6792, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.