in Newswire Published on August 7, 2023

The Children’s Place School Uniforms Contain Toxic PFAS, Class Action Claims [DISMISSED]

Last Updated on July 17, 2024

Garland v. The Children’s Place, Inc.

Filed: July 27, 2023 ◆§ 1:23-cv-04899

A class action lawsuit alleges that The Children’s Place has knowingly concealed from consumers that its school uniforms contain harmful polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals.”

Defendant(s)

The Children's Place, Inc.

Law(s)

Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act

State(s)

Illinois

April 26, 2024 – The Children’s Place School Uniform PFAS Lawsuit Dismissed

The proposed class action lawsuit detailed on this page was dismissed without prejudice in April 2024.

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In a 22-page order filed on April 1, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly granted The Children’s Place’s (TCP) motion to dismiss the case after finding that the plaintiffs failed to adequately allege the defendant deceived them into purchasing its school uniforms.

According to Judge Kennelly, the plaintiffs did not assert that TCP disseminated any false statements about the school uniforms—such as that they were “PFAS-Free”—but instead based their claims on TCP’s overall failure to disclose the presence of PFAS in its products.

The judge noted that the plaintiffs alleged that the use of PFAS in school uniforms is legal, common and “widely published” in the mainstream media.

“In this context, it is not plausible that a reasonable consumer would interpret TCP’s silence on the issue of PFAS to indicate that its school uniforms were 100 percent PFAS-free,” Judge Kennelly wrote.

Judge Kennelly gave the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their complaint, but the consumers filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on April 19. The court officially closed the case on April 22, 2024.

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that The Children’s Place has knowingly concealed from consumers that its school uniforms contain harmful polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals.”

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

The 27-page lawsuit says that although the clothing retailer’s uniforms are marketed to parents of school-aged children and intended to be worn over eight hours a day, five days a week, independent testing commissioned by the plaintiff has revealed that the products contain PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals that are a “known safety hazard to children” and the environment.

Per the suit, though PFAS may be used to make textiles and apparel stain-resistant or water-repellant, for example, exposure to these man-made chemicals can increase the risk of certain cancers, reduced responses to vaccines, endocrine disruption, thyroid changes, liver damage, accelerated puberty and immune system dysfunction.

“Clothing treated with PFAS presents multiple routes for direct exposure and absorption into the human body via skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion,” the case relays. “Young children are especially vulnerable to direct oral exposure due to frequent hand-to-mouth behaviors.”

The plaintiff, a Chicago resident, purchased a variety of school uniform items from the company’s online store in 2022 because the clothing was required by her child’s school, the complaint states.

Like other consumers, the plaintiff reasonably believed that the school uniforms would not contain harmful chemicals such as PFAS, particularly because the woman saw no warnings on the clothing’s tags or the retailer’s advertisements or website, the filing explains.

As a result of the defendant’s failure to warn consumers about the presence of PFAS in the products at issue, the plaintiff and other parents have dressed their young children in clothing that may have a detrimental impact on their health, the lawsuit contends.

“The presence of PFAS in school uniforms is particularly concerning, as uniforms are worn directly on the skin for upwards of eight hours per day, five days per week, by children, who are uniquely vulnerable to harmful chemicals,” the case stresses. “Due to children’s lower body weight and sensitive development, exposure to PFAS at a young age for prolonged periods of time may result in a greater lifetime threat of adverse health outcomes.”

The lawsuit looks to represent all individuals or entities in the United States who purchased The Children’s Place school uniforms within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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