Figs Hit with Class Action Over ‘Antimicrobial’ Claims for Healthcare Apparel

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Figs, Inc. is the defendant in a proposed class action wherein the plaintiff claims the company’s representations that its healthcare apparel for medical professionals is “antimicrobial” and can kill bacteria and infection on contact are “utterly false” and misleading. According to the 19-page suit, Figs’ claims are not only false and have cost proposed class members monetary damages, but create additional risk for medical professionals who may incorrectly believe their scrubs can kill bacteria and infection on contact.

Filed in California, the suit explains Figs is an online Los Angeles-based medical apparel retailer who sells scrubs and lab coats. Figs, the case says, advertises and sells its products across the country with the representation that its scrubs and lab coats are made with fabric containing “FionTechnology,” described in the complaint as a four-way stretchable, breathable, wrinkle-resistant, moisture-wicking fabric. The defendant also allegedly represents that its “FionTechnology” is antimicrobial, meaning it’s apparently “capable of killing bacteria and infection immediately on contact,” a characteristic the company says is derived from silver ions incorporated into the fabric’s polymer structure.

The lawsuit alleges, however, that at “at least two” peer-reviewed studies, cited on page five of the complaint, have debunked the defendant’s claims that silver ions can kill bacteria and infectious diseases. As the case tells it, Figs “has no scientific evidence or basis to verify its representations” that the products at the heart of the lawsuit are antimicrobial and capable of killing bacteria.

Sometime in June or July 2019, the case continues, Figs reportedly began removing from its website and marketing materials all representations that its medical apparel is antimicrobial. Proposed class members received no such notice, according to the case. 

“Defendant has failed to notify its customers that the Class Products purchased from Defendant do not have antimicrobial properties as previously advertised,” the suit reads. “The threat of harm to the public and Class Members will continue until Defendant gives adequate notice that the Class Products are incapable of killing bacteria and infection.”

The case looks to cover a proposed class of individuals nationwide, and, alternatively, a California-only class, who bought any of Figs’ medical apparel between 2013 and the present.