By Joanna Szabo  |  September 28, 2015

Category: Consumer News

madeinUSA-jeans-controversy“Made in the USA” labels on products, including clothing items, have become a controversial topic.

One company under fire for using Made in the USA labels is Citizens of Humanity, which is facing a series of class action lawsuits for allegedly falsely labeling products under California law.

Many Americans specifically choose to buy products that they believe are made in the United States. Reasons include the belief that products with Made in the USA or similar labels may be of higher quality, or support the U.S. economy, or even both.

It has become an attractive marketing scheme for companies to falsely label products as Made in the USA in order to win customers and boost sales. And consumers have been shown to be willing to pay more for products with that label.

While federal law is not strict about this issue, California law is. California law prohibits products from featuring Made in the USA or similar labels if any single component is not American made.

Federal law requires that “virtually all” of its components must come from the U.S. itself for a product to have a Made in the USA label. According to federal law, parts of the assembly process can also take place elsewhere, as long as the final stage of assembly occurs in the U.S.

California law requires all stages of assembly to be in the U.S.

Citizens of Humanity, a leading denim jean manufacturer, has been accused of using parts manufactured outside the United States. That would violate California law for using a Made in the USA law.

According to Citizens of Humanity lawsuits, the components of Citizens jeans that may be foreign include fabric, thread, buttons, rivets, and/or parts of the zipper. Consumers say they are concerned that these parts, made without strict U.S. manufacturing standards, may result in an end product that is not as high quality as they are expecting from a product supposedly “Made in the USA.”

Some also say the prices of these designer jeans are high because they are Made in the USA products. Citizens of Humanity jeans cost between $168 and $258 at full price.

Lawyers for Citizens of Humanity argue that federal law trumps state law, and since federal law is in this case more lenient, the case should be dismissed.

If you or someone you know has purchased a Citizens of Humanity product in the last few years, you may be able to join a Made in the USA class action lawsuit.

Join a Free Citizens of Humanity ‘Made in the USA’ Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased one or more Citizens of Humanity apparel products in California in the past four years based, in part, on a “Made in the USA” label, you may be able to seek compensation by joining a class action lawsuit investigation.

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