CASHMERE AND CAMEL HAIR MANUFACTURERS INSTITUTE’S FALSE ADVERTISING CASE RESOLVED
CCMI and Etsy, Inc. Have Resolved Their Dispute and Look Forward to Collaborating to Protect the Interests of Cashmere Customers, Manufacturers, and Sellers.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, February 7, 2023 – The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (“CCMI”) announced today that its false advertising and unfair competition action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, entitled CCMI v. Etsy, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-12242-RWZ, has been finally resolved, avoiding the need for further proceedings in the case.
CCMI’s legal action, filed in the U.S. federal court on December 30, 2022, had challenged the advertising and sale of purported “100% Cashmere” and “Cashmere” garments on Etsy websites in the U.S. and abroad that CCMI had tested and found not to be Cashmere, but rather to be 100% acrylic, polyester, and other synthetic blends.
Fabio Garzena, President of CCMI, said that “CCMI and Etsy have resolved their dispute and look forward to collaborating to protect the interests of Cashmere customers, manufacturers, and sellers.” CCMI has a long history of working to help maintain the integrity of the Cashmere marketplace by providing important information about Cashmere’s value as a high quality luxury fabric, identifying reliable Cashmere testing laboratories and services, and pursuing legal action where appropriate to challenge the mislabeling of purported Cashmere garments and fabric.
CCMI’s legal action presented a number of important intellectual property and competition law issues related to the advertising and sale of falsely or misleadingly advertised products over the internet in the international marketplace. CCMI was represented in the action by Robert J. Kaler, a partner in the international law firm of Holland & Knight LLP.
For further information contact: James Coleman, CCMI USA Representative in Boston, MA, atjcoleman@cashmere.org
INTERNATIONAL TRADE GROUP FILES FALSE ADVERTISING LAWSUIT AGAINST ETSY
Cashmere & Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute alleges that Garments Are Falsely Advertised as “Cashmere” and “100% Cashmere”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, January 2, 2023 – The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (“CCMI”), a U.S.-based international trade group whose members include some of the world’s largest Cashmere fabric and garment manufacturers, has filed a lawsuit against Etsy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETSY) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking to stop the widespread marketing and sale, both in the U.S. and internationally, of garments that CCMI alleges are being falsely advertised and misrepresented as “100% Cashmere” or “Cashmere” when they are actually either 100% acrylic, a much less expensive, petroleum-based, and more flammable fiber, or are a blend of cheaper synthetic or man-made materials such polyester, nylon, or rayon, and minor percentages of wool.
“CCMI’s position is that a consumer has the right to expect that garments advertised on Etsy as “100% Cashmere” or “Cashmere” will not be materially misrepresented in this way, said Fabio Garzena, President of CCMI, “and when it occurs, CCMI and its members, who make some of the finest Cashmere products in the world, suffer real economic harm. Karl Spilhaus, President Emeritus of CCMI, added that “for more than 35 years, CCMI has been fighting to protect the good name and reputation of Cashmere as a fine specialty fiber; this Etsy case is another chapter in that story.
The Complaint in the action, in which CCMI is represented by Robert J. Kaler, Esq. of the international law firm Holland & Knight, LLP, is available at www.cashmere.org, and details CCMI’s efforts to uncover and challenge the alleged false and deceptive advertising under the applicable U.S. federal and state laws. The name of the case is CCMI v. Etsy, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-12242 (D. Mass.).
For further information contact: James Coleman, CCMI USA Representative in Boston, MA, atjcoleman@cashmere.org
CASHMERE AND CAMEL HAIR MANUFACTURERS INSTITUTE’S FALSE ADVERTISING LAWSUIT RESOLVED
CS Accessories, a Supplier of the Purported “100% Cashmere Made in Scotland” Garments, Agrees to the Entry of Final Judgment Against It. CCMI and Amazon Have Resolved Their Dispute and Look Forward to Collaborating to Protect the Interests of Cashmere Customers, Manufacturers, and Sellers.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, December 7, 2021 – The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (“CCMI”) announced today that its false advertising and unfair competition action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, entitled CCMI v. Amazon.com, Inc. and CS Accessories LLC, Case No. 1:21-cv-11872-WGY, has been finally resolved, avoiding the need for a trial that was scheduled to commence in Boston on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.
CCMI’s legal action, filed in the U.S. federal court on November 18, 2021, had challenged the advertising and sale of purported “100% Cashmere” garments on Amazon websites in the U.S. and abroad that CCMI had tested and found to be 100% Acrylic, Polyester, and other synthetic materials. As part of the resolution of the action, a major supplier of many of the garments, defendant CS Accessories, agreed to the entry of a Final Judgment permanently enjoining it from advertising or selling garments of any kind falsely labeled as “Cashmere.”
Fabio Garzena, President of CCMI, said that “CCMI and Amazon have resolved their dispute and look forward to collaborating to protect the interests of Cashmere customers, manufacturers, and sellers.” CCMI has a long history of working to help maintain the integrity of the Cashmere marketplace by providing important information about Cashmere’s value as a high quality luxury fabric, identifying reliable Cashmere testing laboratories and services, and pursuing legal action where appropriate to challenge the mislabeling of purported Cashmere garments and fabric.
CCMI’s legal action presented a number of important intellectual property and competition law issues related to the advertising and sale of counterfeit products over the internet in the international marketplace. CCMI was represented in the action by Robert J. Kaler, a partner in the international law firm of Holland & Knight LLP.
For further information contact: James Coleman, CCMI USA Representative in Boston, MA, atjcoleman@cashmere.org
International Trade Group Files False Advertising Lawsuit Against Amazon
Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute alleges that Garments Advertised by Amazon as “100% Cashmere Made in Scotland” are Actually 100% Acrylic not made in Scotland
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, November 18, 2021 – The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (“CCMI”), whose members include major Cashmere fabric and garment manufacturers, distributors and retailers in the United States and abroad, has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking to stop Amazon’s widespread marketing and sale, both in the U.S. and internationally, of garments that CCMI alleges are being falsely advertised and misrepresented as “100% Cashmere” when they are actually made entirely of a type of synthetic, petroleum-based Acrylic that is much cheaper, less warm and more flammable than Cashmere, and contains chemicals that are not present in Cashmere.
“A consumer has the right to expect that garments offered by an established retailer like Amazon will not be materially mislabeled and misrepresented in this way, said Fabio Garzena, President of CCMI, “and when it occurs, CCMI and its members, who make some of the finest Cashmere products in the world, suffer real economic harm. Karl Spilhaus, President Emeritus of CCMI, added that “for more than 35 years, CCMI has been fighting to protect the good name and reputation of Cashmere as a fine specialty fiber; this is the latest chapter in that long story.
The complaint in the action, in which CCMI is represented by Robert J. Kaler of Holland & Knight, is available at www.cashmere.org, and details CCMI’s efforts to uncover and challenge the mislabeling at issue. The name of the case is CCMI v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al, Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-11872-WGY.
For further information contact: James Coleman, CCMI USA Representative, at jcoleman@cashmere.org
