California joined the growing list of states to ban products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) when, on September 29th, Governor Newsom signed into law legislation prohibiting the so-called “forever chemicals” in apparel, textiles, and cosmetics. The ban goes into effect beginning in 2025, and applies to the sale, manufacture and distribution of new cosmetics
Fashion and Retail
H&M Sued Over Sustainability Claims
Sustainability continues to be a hot topic in the fashion industry, both in ads and in lawsuits related to those ads. Last month, a plaintiff filed a proposed class action against H&M arguing that the company makes various false claims about the sustainability of its products. The lawsuit seems to be prompted by a June…
Man Sues Bass Pro Over Lifetime Guarantee on Socks
As heat waves spread across the country, many men are looking for opportunities to go without socks. (To those men, I might suggest a good pair of no-show socks but, like with other grooming tips, that’s beyond the scope of this post.) The point is that, despite the heat, one Missouri man wants more…
Upcoming Price Gouging and Employee/HR Data Privacy Webinars
How To Protect Employee/HR Data and Comply with Data Privacy Laws
Wednesday, July 20
As workforces become increasingly mobile and remote work is more the norm, employers face the challenge of balancing the protection of their employees’ personal data and privacy against the need to collect and process personal data to recruit, support and monitor…
Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Allbirds Over Green Claims
Last year, we posted about a lawsuit against Allbirds alleging (among other things) that the company’s environmental claims – including claims about its “sustainable” practices, the “low carbon footprint” of its shoes, and its other “environmentally friendly” initiatives – are false and misleading. This week, the US District Court for the Southern District of New…
FTC Settles with Company Over Failure to Post Negative Reviews
Companies often ask us whether they can highlight positive reviews without mentioning negative ones. The good news is that there are ways to do that, but when the conversation veers from highlighting positive reviews to suppressing negative ones, things get trickier. This afternoon, the FTC announced its first case involving a company’s failure to post…
NY Lawmakers Introduce Sustainability Requirements for Fashion Industry
Last week, New York lawmakers announced a bill aimed at imposing sustainability reporting requirements on the fashion industry. If passed, the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act would generally require major fashion retailers to map their supply chains, make various disclosures on their websites, and commit to reducing their environmental impact.
The law…
New NAD Case Addresses Green Claims in Fashion Industry – Part 2
In a post last week, we looked at NAD’s review of Everlane’s green claims relating to the company’s use of recycled plastic in its products and its aspirational goals to remove virgin plastic from its entire supply chain by 2021. In this post, we’ll look at what NAD had to say about Everlane’s “Safer…
New NAD Case Addresses Green Claims in Fashion Industry: Part 1
As fashion companies begin to make more claims about what they are doing to help the environment, they need to make sure they’re in good position to support those claims with strong evidence. We previously posted about a pending lawsuit against Allbirds involving its carbon emission claims. In this post, we’ll start to look at…
Allbirds Faces Lawsuit Over Green Claims
This summer, a plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit against Allbirds, alleging (among other things) that the company’s environmental claims – including claims about its “sustainable” practices, the “low carbon footprint” of its shoes, and its other “environmentally friendly” initiatives – are false and misleading.
The complaint – which is based largely on a PETA…