
Jury Rules Against Bigelow in “Made in USA” Tea Lawsuit
Kimberly Banks and Carol Cantwell led a class action against R.C. Bigelow, Inc., accusing the tea company of falsely labeling its teas as “Manufactured in the USA” and “America’s Classic.” They showed Bigelow sourced all tea leaves from countries like Sri Lanka and India, while the packaging implied domestic origin. Bigelow denied wrongdoing, saying the claims referred to U.S. blending and packaging. After hearing expert testimony and reviewing evidence, a California jury ruled that the labeling misled reasonable consumers. Damages were awarded to the class, and Bigelow was ordered to revise its labels to disclose the foreign origin of its tea leaves.