A lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Stanley’s manufacturer of targeting safety-conscious consumers without disclosing that its popular drinkware includes lead
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The makers of the popular Stanley tumbler cups are the target of a first-of-its-kind deceptive advertising lawsuit filed Thursday. The filing is a putative class action filed on behalf of California consumers who bought Stanley cups without knowing that they contained lead.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by John Rushing and Ryan McCarl of the Santa Monica-based business law firm Rushing McCarl LLP. The lawsuit alleges that Pacific Market International, LLC (“PMI”) — the company behind the Stanley brand — hid that its Stanley cups contained lead because they didn’t want to dampen the company’s viral success.
“Stanley’s manufacturer could have been honest with consumers about its use of lead in drinking cups,” Rushing said. “But that would have driven away the company’s core consumers: professional women of childbearing age. So the company chose a full wallet over full disclosure.”
The lawsuit comes in the wake of PMI’s admission that the Stanley cups contain the Stanley manufacturer’s admission that its drinking cups contain previously undisclosed lead, a toxin that can cause severe health impairments, in the cups’ insulated lining. The complaint alleges that PMI chose to use lead in its manufacturing process and knew that damage to the cups could cause exposure to the lead, but decided to hide that information from its customers.
The oversized tumbler cups became famous in recent years thanks to PMI’s savvy marketing campaigns, which used influencer-led product placement and demographic microtargeting to bombard its target consumers with advertisements for the product. PMI paid influencers to suggest that Stanley cups were ideal for breastfeeding mothers needing to hydrate and young women going on rugged outdoor adventures.
The Stanley craze reached new heights in 2023, when PMI raked in $750 million in sales. But these sales were made to consumers unaware of PMI’s use of lead in the Stanley cups. Only in late January 2024, after social media users independently learned that the cups contained lead, did the company come clean. But PMI continues selling the cups without advising consumers that they contain a dangerous toxin.
A copy of the complaint can be found at https://bit.ly/stanleylawsuit. The case is Brown v. Pacific Market Int’l, LLC (L.A. Superior Court, filed Feb. 1, 2023).
The named plaintiffs — who hope to represent a class of California consumers — include four professional women of childbearing age who bought Stanley cups without knowing that they contained lead. The women include a forensic scientist, a director of development, a marketing manager, and an attorney. Two of the named plaintiffs are mothers with young children. All were targeted by Stanley’s influencer-driven marketing campaigns on social media sites such as Instagram and Tiktok, and none were told that Stanley’s cups contain lead before buying them and bringing them into their homes.
Rushing McCarl LLP is a trial and appellate litigation firm that provides elite advocacy for businesses in California and beyond. Partners John Rushing and Ryan McCarl lead a team of attorneys known for their expertise in oral and written advocacy and deep knowledge of the law. For more information, visit https://rushingmccarl.com/.
SOURCE Rushing McCarl
