Spilling the Teas on Made in USA Claims

We regularly cover challenges to ​“Made in USA” claims, particularly by the FTC, but most of the time those cases don’t rely on consumer perception evidence about what the claim means. So the recent class certification in the Central District of California in a case against R.C. Bigelow, Inc. caught our attention. Plaintiffs allege that Bigelow misrepresents that its tea is ​“Manufactured in the USA” because the tea was processed abroad. They relied on a perception survey to spill the tea on consumer takeaway for the claim.