Bigelow Tea Must Keep Facing Suit Over Made in U.S. Claims

Specialty tea producer RC Bigelow Inc. can’t shake off a proposed class suit alleging it dupes consumers into thinking its products are U.S.-made when they’re sourced from tea that’s grown and processed overseas, a California federal court said.

Kimberly Banks and Carol Cantwell allege they relied on packaging that said “Manufactured in the USA 100% American Family Owned” and “America’s Classic” when buying Earl Grey, Vanilla Chai, and other tea varieties.

The U.S. grows a minuscule amount of tea. The plants used to make the Bigelow products are grown by tea plantations and processed by facilities located in places such ...