Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil isn't 'Made in USA,' lawsuit claims

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 28, 2024 11:24 AM EDT


NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - The maker of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil is being sued in a proposed class action claiming it misleads consumers by saying the foil is "Made in USA" though much of the raw material and manufacturing comes from elsewhere.

According to a complaint on Wednesday night, substantially all bauxite that Reynolds Consumer Products (REYN.O) uses in its foil comes from outside the United States, which accounts for only a small percentage of global production of the ore. The complaint filed in Manhattan federal court also says a substantial amount of the bauxite is transformed into alumina and then into aluminum outside the United States.

This makes Reynolds' "Foil Made in USA" claim on its packaging false and misleading to reasonable consumers, because they "value buying products which are made in America" and therefore would pay more, the complaint said. Reynolds, based in Lake Forest, Illinois, declined to comment, saying it does not discuss pending litigation.

The lawsuit is led by Anaya Washington of Bronx, New York, and seeks at least $5 million of damages for New Yorkers who bought Reynolds Wrap foil in the last three years. Washington said she bought her foil at a Target because she trusted the Reynolds Wrap brand, calling it as familiar as Kleenex and Vaseline, and likes to "buy American." She said she wouldn't have done so had she known where her foil came from.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/reynolds-wrap-aluminum-foil-isnt-made-usa-lawsuit-claims-2024-03-28/

[speak easy]

1. The aluminum is made in the USA. The sheets are rolled in the USA.

Bauxite is not made anywhere - it is mined. The suit is without merit.

[TomSlick]

2. Agreed.

The Bauxite is almost certainly mined outside the US. Alcoa, which owns Reynolds, has aluminum production plants around the world. I don't know if any aluminum used in Reynolds Wrap is imported but the foil is certainly made in the US.

I expect a motion to dismiss.

[tyrolblue]

3. foil

When I worked for Alcoa, Reynolds was bought out by Alcoa. Their bauxite ore deposits were in Australia and Brazil. Some bauxite was refined in Trinidad and Tobago and there was a US refinery in Point Comfort, Texas. Most Reynolds wrap foil was rolled and packaged in Richmond, VA. The workers were union members of the Untied Steelworkers Local 400. Not sure where the aluminum slabs that are rolled are coming from. Most of the Alcoa and Reynolds smelters in this country are shut down. Most metal comes from Quebec because of the abundance on hydroelectric power. Most of those workers are also union members.

Bottom line, Reynolds wrap is made here and the raw bauxite is mined elsewhere because that's where commercially viable is found.

[Angrybob2001]

4. Purpose of purchase

Please say it was for a hat

[twodogsbarking]

5. Foil is quite expensive.

[melm00se]

6. Made in USA

I know that there are rules about what is and what is not "Made in USA" when dealing with the federal government.

In the high tech world, most of the bits and bobs were made elsewhere but where the final assembly location was what counted.

Applying those rules, if the sheets are rolled or trimmed and packaged in the USA, IIRC, that would meet the federal "Made in USA" rules.