Cookware company Caraway alleges that “Big Cookware” is using the lawsuit to “silence” the company that once became famous for creating chemical-free pans. Caraway recently launched a marketing campaign in response to a lawsuit filed in February by two large pan manufacturers claiming that Caraway is damaging their reputation by marketing its products as free of “toxic” chemicals – although neither company is ever named.
The lawsuit, filed by Groupe SEB USA and Mayer in the Southern District of New York, claims that Caraway’s marketing is akin to Forever Chemical, a colloquial term for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), which is harmful to the entire industry. In the lawsuit, both companies say that Caraway’s marketing materials are not based on scientific facts and “have caused substantial and sustained harm to consumers, Plaintiffs, and other cookware and bakeware companies in the market.”
In response to WIRED’s questions, Carmine Zarlenga, the Mayer Brown attorney representing Group SEB USA and Mayer in the case, sent a press release. “Claiming to be a small company is not a defense against false advertising – all companies, large and small, have the same rights and obligations under federal and state false advertising laws,” Zarlenga said in the release.
The lawsuit is the latest attack on anti-PFAS advocacy by two of the largest companies in the global cookware industry. In 2024, when more than two dozen state legislatures banned consumer products with PFAS, Group SEB, parent company of Group SEB USA, and Mayer formed the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, an advocacy group for the industry. That group has actively protested the restrictions, including signing letters and testifying at statehouses.
Last fall, facing a bill in the California legislature to ban consumer products containing PFAS, celebrity chefs including Rachael Ray, Marcus Samuelsson and David Chang sent letters to the legislature opposing the bill. (Ray and Chang’s cookware lines are affiliated with Meyer, while Samuelson serves as a “chef partner” for All-Clad, which is owned by Groupe SEB. WIRED sought comment from All Clad, Ray, Samuelson and Chang. All four did not respond.) The bill ultimately passed the legislature but was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
“The Cookware Sustainability Alliance focuses solely on state-level advocacy to keep safe cookware from getting caught up in overly broad PFAS product bans,” Steve Burns, the group’s president, told WIRED in an email. “We are not a party to any litigation at this time.”
Last year, the Cookware Sustainability Alliance challenged claims made by Caraway through the National Advertising Division (NAD), an independent nonprofit often associated with Better Business Bureau national programs that regulate the advertising industry itself. The coalition challenged some of the claims in Caraway’s advertising surrounding PFAS.
The NAD ruled that Caraway can continue to advertise its products as “nontoxic” and “PFAS-free”, but it must avoid specific claims in its advertising, including that other nonstick cookware “may release toxins into your food and home during normal, manufacturer-recommended use.”
The February lawsuit alleged that Caraway continued to use that message despite the NAD decision. The company says most of the advertising examples highlighted in the lawsuit merely state that its products are non-toxic and fully comply with NAD recommendations. But the lawsuit also claims that Caraway “did not remove many relevant advertisements.” In a memorandum to support the dismissal motion, Carraway alleged that the NAD did not provide “any factual support for the element of consumer fraud.”
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