Macy’s Falsely Advertises Certain Oake Bedding Products as ‘100% Cotton,’ Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action alleges Macy’s has falsely advertised its Oake-brand comforter sets, duvet sets, coverlets, quilts and shams as “100% Cotton,” given that the products contain a polyester filling.

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The 33-page lawsuit says that despite the front-label promise that the Oake bedding products are entirely made with cotton, only their covers make use of the natural fiber. Apart from their shells, the Oake products at issue are completely filled with polyester, a synthetic material produced through chemical reactions involving petroleum and coal, the case alleges.

The suit claims that defendants Macy’s and Macy’s Merchandising Group, Inc. have resorted to “false and misleading” labeling to increase sales by capitalizing on consumer demand for cotton products. According to the complaint, customers prefer cotton products because the fiber is known to be comfortable, breathable, hypoallergenic, environmentally friendly and biodegradable in natural environments. 

In contrast, polyester is less breathable and can take hundreds of years to degrade, the filing explains. The use of polyester has also been linked to rashes, itching, redness, eczema, dermatitis, allergic reactions, insomnia, headaches and fatigue, and the material can release dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals like formaldehyde when exposed to heat, the complaint says.

The plaintiff, a California resident, says she purchased an Oake comforter set from Macy’s in June 2022 under the impression that the product was entirely made of cotton as advertised. The woman claims that she and other reasonable consumers would not have purchased the comforter, or would have paid less for it, had they known the product was falsely represented as “100% Cotton.”

Per the suit, the defendants have failed to comply with Federal Trade Commission regulations concerning the marketing of textile bedding products, which state that “[n]o fiber trademark or generic name shall be used in non-required information on a label in such a manner as to be false, deceptive, or misleading as to fiber content, or to indicate directly or indirectly that a textile fiber product is composed wholly or in part of a particular fiber, when such is not the case.”

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in the United States who purchased Oake brand “100% Cotton” comforters, coverlets, quilts, duvets or shams for personal, family, or household use during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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