Class Action Case Scrutinizes Ralph Lauren ‘Pima Cotton’ Claims for Women’s V-Neck Polo Sweater

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Ralph Lauren Corporation faces another proposed class action that alleges the fashion brand has falsely claimed that certain Polo clothing is crafted entirely from Pima cotton.

The 17-page complaint alleges Ralph Lauren’s Polo-brand women’s burgundy lightweight v-neck sweater, touted as crafted with “[f]ine luxurious yarns” of Pima cotton, in fact contains less Pima cotton than advertised. Instead, the garment is made with “a significant amount of less expensive shorter cotton fibers and cotton byproduct fibers,” the suit claims. 

Per the filing, the value of the Polo v-neck sweater, which reportedly retails for around $40, is “materially less than its value as represented” by Ralph Lauren. 

According to the lawsuit, Pima cotton is a type of extra-long staple cotton, with fibers ranging from 1.2 to 1.48 inches. The suit says that cotton with longer fibers are more expensive and, as a result, clothing manufactuers have a great incentive to mix cotton byproducts and shorter fibers with higher-value longer fibers. Consumers, the case states, value Pima cotton products because they are softer and more durable than those made from other types of cotton. 

The complaint states that the American Society for Testing and Materials’ single-fiber test was applied to the Polo v-neck sweater at issue to determine the fiber lengths of the finished product. The results revealed that 100 percent of the fibers were shorter than 1.20 inches, i.e. the low range for Pima cotton, and 88 percent of the fibers were shorter than 1.08 inches, according to the case. 

Further, the lawsuit says that a professor who specializes in textiles concluded that even if every fiber of the sweater was shortened by 25 percent during the manufacturing process, the total number of fibers that would qualify as Pima cotton would be 62 percent. 

“For numerous reasons, it is unlikely the cotton fibers used in the Product were reduced in size by 25% from the time the cotton was harvested until it was analyzed,” the case relays, arguing that, even assuming the “worst case scenario of fiber shortening,” the amount of real Pima cotton in the garment is “still significantly less than advertised.”

The lawsuit looks to represent consumers in Texas, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Indiana, Virginia, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, Vermont, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Delaware, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and Utah who bought the Ralph Lauren Polo women’s burgundy lightweight v-neck sweater within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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