Important Shatnez announcement

Dear friend,

Hope all is well. 

I would like to share with you the details pertaining to the attached important Shatnez alert.

 

Recently, a woolen car coat with the brand name Baggio, was purchased at a popular Brooklyn retail store. Unbeknown to the customer, the car coat model # M23 contained linen taper reinforcements (shown below) thereby making it Shatnez. 

However, the content label attached to the coat stated clearly, "no linen inside". Additionally, he was advised by a close acquaintance that Shatnez testing on all Baggio garments is both superfluous and redundant as they are all "pre-checked". 

Nevertheless, being a cautious consumer, he did not rely on the information supplied by either the label or his close acquaintance. He brought his new woolen car coat to the Boro Park Shatnez Laboratory for testing. Rabbi Daniel Gurwitz, the director of the laboratory, discovered the linen reinforcements after a careful and thorough laboratory testing. Another car coat at the same retail store with the same model number, was subsequently found to contain the same type of Shatnez.

The Boro Park and Flatbush Shatnez Laboratories are therefore recalling all Baggio brand woolen car coats model #  M23 purchased from the Fall of 2014, including those that have already been tested. 

Unfortunately, this incident involving Baggio garments is part of a pattern.  Baggio woolen garments with content labels stating that they do not contain linen and sold by salespersons claiming they are pre-checked, have been found to contain Shatnez in the past. This has been documented with both men's and children's garments since 2004. Click here and here for links to Shatnez notices that addressed recent incidents of Shatnez in Baggio garments.

Regretfully, many garment consumers  continue to trust the Baggio label and faithfully rely on the assurances furnished by Baggio's salespersons. Consequently, a significant number of these seemingly negligent consumers unknowingly fall victim to actually donning Shatnez. Vaad L'Mishmeres Shatnez has spoken to the family of one of these Baggio victims.

Attached is a consumer alert regarding the current incident. You may also access it by clicking here. This alert does remind the consumer regarding the vital importance of having his woolen garments tested at a qualified Shatnez laboratory, regardless to what a label suggests. Please publicize, as you may be saving someone from wearing Shatnez.

If one has numerous untested Baggio and/or other woolen or linen garments, a Shatnez house call is strongly recommended. Please call Vaad L'Mishmeres Shatnez @ 1.877.4.SHATNEZ for more information.

Thank you very much,

Rabbi Moshe Bresler

Vaad L'Mishmeres Shatnez

1-877-4-SHATNEZ