A Minnesota-based cookware company has been accused of deceptively labeling its products as being “Made in the USA” despite the material being sourced from Canada.
The class action lawsuit filed April 11 alleges Nordic Ware’s claims that its products are American-made are false and misleading because “virtually all” of the materials used to make aluminum are mined overseas and the processing of the material into aluminum happened in Canada.
The plaintiff, a man from New York, claims he would have never bought nearly $45 worth of Nordic Ware’s product had he known the aluminium had not been sourced and manufactured in the USA. He says he paid “an additional amount” for the product based on Nordic Ware’s “Made in the USA” claim.
According to the Federal Trade Commission“Made in USA” means “all or virtually all” of the product has been made in America.
“That is all significant parts, processing and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin,” the federal agency says.
In one example provided in the lawsuit, the FTC says that if the gold in a gold ring is imported, claiming the ring was made in America is deceptive because the gold, which is an integral component, is “only one step back from the finished article.”
Without aluminium and bauxite, a rock with high aluminium content, the lawsuit claims, Nordic Ware would not be able to manufacture its products. Additionally, it is noted that no bauxite mined in the United States has been used to make aluminum since 1981, and bauxite is not mined in Canada.
“…It is virtually impossible to source U.S.-mined bauxite and U.S.-made aluminum in the United States,” the lawsuit says. “As such, the aluminium used in Defendant’s products necessarily must be sourced from foreign nations.”
Last month, Nordic Ware CEO David Dalquist told WCCO his company caters “to the people that appreciate American-made products.”
Dalquist said the aluminium used in Nordic Ware’s products is sourced from Canada in the form of 5,000-pound coils and processed at a factory in Wisconsin.
On its website, Nordic Ware says its “Made in America” label “signifies a deep-rooted commitment to providing American jobs that support families and their communities.”
Nordic Ware has not returned WCCO’s request for comment.
