A Federal District Judge has ruled that ALS Enterprises, the manufacturer of carbon-based Scent-Lok hunting apparel, is guilty of deceptive advertising over the company’s claims that its clothing implemented “odor eliminating” technology. Retailers Cabela's and Gander Mountain, both of which sell Scent-Lok and their own private-label clothing using Scent-Lok technology, were also found guilty of deceptive advertising.
Scent-Lok technology utilizes activated carbon to theoretically eliminate human odor molecules, purportedly making the hunter less detectable by big game quarries which often posses acute senses of smell.
The suit was first filed almost three years ago by several hunters who alleged that Scent-Lok's advertisements violated Minnesota's Consumer Fraud Act, The Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Unlawful Trade Practices Act.
According to the judgment order, an injunction barring ALS/Scent-Lok, Cabela's and Gander Mountain from “further deceptive practices” will be issued.
Federal District Court Judge Richard Kyle of Minnesota stated that all advertisements that used the words “odor-eliminating technology,” “odor-eliminating clothing,” “eliminates all types of odor,” “odor elimination,” “remove all odor,” “complete scent elimination,” “scent-free,” “works on 100 percent of your scent 100 percent of the time,” “all human scent,” “odor is eradicated,” and graphics demonstrating that human odor cannot escape the carbon-embedded fabric are all false statements as a matter of law.
In addition, the Court found claims that Scent-Lok clothing could be “reactivated” or “like new” or “pristine” condition to be false as a matter of law, according to a posting on the Web site of the law firm of Heins Mills & Olson, P.L.C, which represented the suit’s plaintiffs. The firm said the plaintiffs in the case would only be able to recover damages for their own purchases, but added that the injunction against false advertising “will benefit all future consumers of Scent Lok products in Minnesota.
Shortly after the ruling, Scent-Lok posted a response on its Website, saying, “On a narrow legal issue, the court determined that the word 'eliminate' in some of Scent-Lok's advertisements could only mean eliminate 100% of odor, and therefore some of these advertisements were false.”
ALS said it “respectively disagrees” with the court’s ruling that the term “odor eliminate” refers to 100% elimination of scent. “There are many products on the market advertised as ‘eliminating’ some condition,” the statement says, “and people understand that they do not eliminate (human scent) 100%.”
ALS intends to appeal the court’s ruling and “to continue to actively defend against this lawsuit.”
