A Florida woman is accusing one of the biggest names in athleisure wear of misleading customers about the quality of its products.

Palm Beach County resident Kiara Cruz filed suit in February against Lululemon, a Canadian retailer best known for its form-fitting and yoga-inspired athletic and casual apparel. Her complaint alleges Lululemon deliberately misled customers about the percentage of Pima cotton that can be found in its products.

Known for its smoothness, Pima cotton is widely regarded as superior to other cottons for its gentleness and comfort.

The lawsuit, which was removed to the Southern District of Florida on Monday, stems from the plaintiff's December 2016 purchase of a Lululemon Muscle Love Crop Tank at a company store in Palm Beach Gardens.

The labels claimed the tank top was 92 percent Pima cotton, but Cruz suspected otherwise. After questioning the truth of Lululemon's claims, she and her attorney Howard Rubinstein called in experts, submitting the tank she purchased to a laboratory for testing.

The results, determined by a textile expert whose findings are an exhibit in the court records, purportedly show the Muscle Love Crop Tank “contains only a fraction of the Pima cotton claimed.”

“This expert report confirms the product is not 92 percent Pima cotton,” the lawsuit alleged. “Indeed the expert report concludes that  only 36 to 40 percent of the cotton in the product qualifies as Pima cotton.”

DLA Piper attorneys Fredrick H.L. McClure and Maia Sevilla-Sharon represent Lululemon. McClure declined to comment, while a request for comment from Lululemon's media relations department was not returned by deadline.

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Read the complaint and expert report: 

The specialist retained by the plaintiff, Auburn University professor Dr. Sabit Adanur, found that “rather than being 92 percent Pima cotton,” the product was instead “made from a mixture of cotton and other fibers including a significant amount of less expensive shorter cotton fibers or cotton byproduct fibers.” He derived his conclusion in part from the observed length of the fibers, which were far shorter than what would be expected of Pima cotton.

Adanur wrote “some manufacturers of yarns and fabrics … claim that their products are made of 100 percent Pima, Supima or Egyptian cotton,” despite mixing their clothes with “cheaper varieties of shorter fiber cotton.” The professor notes superior cotton types “can be up to three or more times more expensive” than inferior varieties.

“The motive is greed,” Adanur said in his report. “By unfair and unethical practice, those manufacturers want to make more money due to the price difference in different varieties of cotton.”

Cruz's complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief for Lululemon's alleged violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It also describes the plaintiff as “angry and sad that Lululemon would subject her to violation of state law by its conduct.” A motion for summary disposition is included with the lawsuit.

The case was removed from Palm Beach Circuit Court to the Southern District of Florida on Monday on a request from the defendant.

Plaintiffs counsel Rubinstein, who is based in Singer Island, declined to comment.

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