LOS ANGELES — A federal judge has denied a request by AG and Nordstrom to dismiss a lawsuit alleging they mislabeled American-made jeans based on California’s stricter statute covering domestically produced merchandise.
In a decision issued Oct. 27, Judge Dana Sabraw of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the court said the class-action lawsuit against the jeans company, formerly known as AG Adriano Goldschmied, and the retailer could proceed, as the state law took precedence over a national standard overseen by the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC’s authority to regulate “Made in U.S.A.” labeling doesn’t supersede the authority of states such as California to enforce their own consumer-protection laws, according to court papers. “Outside California, [the] defendants could use the ‘Made in U.S.A.’ labels, but inside California, they could not,” Sabraw wrote.
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Moreover, Sabraw said AG and Nordstrom could comply with both the state law and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, which requires that textiles processed or manufactured in the U.S. be identified as such. As a possible solution, AG and Nordstrom “can simply indicate on the label that their products were ‘Made in U.S.A. of imported fabric and components,’ or something similar that accurately describes where the parts of the product and the product as a whole were sourced and made,” he wrote.
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The suit, filed June 4 by David Paz and San Diego-based Del Mar Law Group, will now proceed to a jury trial. Paz claimed he bought a pair of AG jeans from a Nordstrom store in San Diego, in May, because he believed the jeans were made domestically and so “he was supporting U.S. jobs and the U.S. economy.” On June 9, Del Mar Law Group filed a second lawsuit based on similar claims on behalf of Louise Clark against Citizens of Humanity and Macy’s.
At the crux of both lawsuits is a state law declaring that companies can’t promote merchandise as made in this country if any part “has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured or produced outside of the United States.” The parts could include fabric, zippers, rivets, threads and buttons made overseas. Passed in 1961, the state legislation doesn’t conform with national standards established by the FTC, which requires that a product marked as being made in the U.S. be “all or virtually all” made domestically.
AG, based in South Gate, Calif., declined to comment on the matter. A spokeswoman for Nordstrom said, “We’re disappointed the case wasn’t dismissed. AG will continue to defend Nordstrom’s position.” Citizens of Humanity also declined comment.
These suits have led numerous apparel firms in California to tweak their labels. Siwy Denim, from Gardena, Calif., uses tags that say, “Made in U.S.A. with imported components,” while A Gold E, the sister brand to Citizens of Humanity, prints, “Made in U.S.A. of imported fabric.” Outside of the premium denim sector, which takes pride in its domestic manufacturing operations to give it a competitive edge, other brands are also careful with their labeling. Suki + Solaine, a knit line that launched this fall, notes on all its graphic T-shirts that they’re “Made in the U.S.A. of imported fabric.”