An Australian clothing company has been fined £ 2.6m ($ 5m Australian dollars) for claiming its clothes were able to prevent the spread of Covid and all other related germs and viruses.
The firm named Lorna Jane had advertised that their company’s clothes use a “wonderful new technology” called LJ Shield to prevent “transmission of all diseases and germs”
However, in the court the decision of the judge said the company’s advert and claims were “exploitative, predatory and potentially dangerous”.
Lora Jane’s Statement After Court Decision
Lorna Jane said that the company welcomed the court’s decision.
The company was eventually misled by its supplier. “A reputable and old supplier has sold us a product that didn’t work as promised,” said Lorna Jane chief executive Bill Clarkson.
“They led us to believe the technology behind LJ Shield was being sold elsewhere in Australia, the USA, China, and Taiwan and that it was both anti-bacterial and anti-viral. We believed we were passing on a benefit to our customers.”
Who Sued The Company?
The legal action was brought by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) after Lorna Jane started marketing the clothes in July last year during the Covid pandemic.
In a ruling issued Friday, a federal court judge found Lorna Jane “informing the consumers that they have a sound scientific or technical basis” to make their claims while not having any of them.
Monetary Penalty
The court fined the company for “making unscrupulous claims to consumers and misleading the general public”.
Rod Sims, chairman of the ACCC, said: “This was a horrible behavior because it involved making serious statement about public health when there was no proof for it.”
He added: “The whole marketing campaign is based on consumers’ desire for greater protection from the global pandemic.”
Founder Of Lorna Jane Also Involved
The company also admitted that its founder, Lorna Jane Clarkson, who is also its chief creative officer, authorized and approved the promotional material for LJ Shield’s functional clothing and made false statements about it in media releases and an Instagram video.
The judge said he had taken into account that “the conduct emanated from a high managerial level within the company” and “was directed by Ms Clarkson”.
