Bed Bath & Beyond Class Action Says Sheets Aren’t 100% Egyptian Cotton

Sheets sold as “100% Egyptian Cotton” by Bed Bath & Beyond actually contain only a fraction of real Egyptian cotton, according to a Florida woman.

Plaintiff Marta Rendon accuses home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. of falsely labeling some of its bedsheets as being made of “100% Egyptian Cotton.”

Independent testing reveals that these sheets, marketed as Damask Stripe 500 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton Bed Sheets, actually contain only 16 percent Egyptian cotton fiber, Rendon says.

Bed Bath & Beyond uses this allegedly false labeling to exploit the greater consumer demand for Egyptian cotton sheets, according to Rendon. She says that true Egyptian cotton is a premium fabric that has greater durability and a softer feel than other varieties of cotton, due to its longer fiber strands.

The greater fiber length allows it to be spun into finer yarn, which can be woven into a softer-feeling fabric. Egyptian cotton also absorbs dyes more readily, giving the fabric a richer color.

Lower-quality cotton does not have the same characteristics, Rendon says. It tends to be harvested industrially, using chemicals that break down the fibers. The shorter fibers can’t be spun as fine as the longer fibers of Egyptian cotton, according to this Bed Bath & Beyond class action lawsuit.

Consumers are aware of Egyptian cotton’s reputation as a higher-quality material, she says. For that reason, they are willing to pay a premium for products made from Egyptian cotton. By mislabeling the sheets at issue as “100% Egyptian Cotton,” Bed Bath & Beyond is able to charge a higher price for them than it would if they were more accurately labeled, Rendon claims.

Rendon further points out that these sheets’ undisclosed fabric content creates a hazard for persons with textile allergies. Both the unknown fiber content and the chemicals used to process them could trigger allergic dermatitis, she says.

Rendon says she bought a set of the sheets at issue in reliance on that labeling. She was willing to pay more for these sheets based on the idea that they were of higher quality than less expensive competitors. Had she known these Bed Bath & Beyond sheets were not what their packaging said they were, she alleges, she would not have purchased them.

A similar Bed Bath & Beyond class action lawsuit was filed last November. The plaintiff in that action claims the allegedly “100% Egyptian Cotton” sheets at issue tested at only six percent Egyptian cotton.

Rendon seeks to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all U.S. residents who purchased Damask Stripe 500 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton Bed Sheets from Bed Bath & Beyond during the four years preceding the filing of this complaint.

She seeks a court order barring Bed Bath & Beyond from continuing the alleged false advertising at issue here. She seeks an award of actual damages, restitution and disgorgement of funds related to the conduct at issue, and court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Rendon’s attorney is Angela Arango-Chaffin.

The Bed Bath & Beyond Mislabeled Sheets Class Action Lawsuit is Rendon v. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Case No. 9:17-cv-80960, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: On Oct. 17, 2017, Bed Bath & Beyond filed a motion to dismiss false advertising claims that its “100% Egyptian Cotton” sheets contain barely any Egyptian cotton. Bed Bath & Beyond argued the term “Egyptian” refers solely to the fabric’s country of origin, not to the type of fibers used.

UPDATE 2: The Bed Bath & Beyond Mislabeled Sheets class action lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on October 24, 2017.