The makers of RAW Rolling Papers are facing a significant challenge as they are being forced to pivot their production methods by the end of spring due to a federal court order. The order requires the company, HBI International, to stop making false claims about its organic hemp line and the nonexistent charitable foundation it claimed to support.
Competitor Republic Brands took HBI to court, alleging that the company’s labels included false information. The court ultimately found HBI guilty of unfair competition and violating the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act through its packaging and promotional activities.
The court ordered HBI to immediately stop making false claims about its products, including claims that the papers were made by artisanal craftsmen in Alcoy, Spain, and that the company contributed to a charitable foundation known as the “RAW Foundation.” The court found that HBI made no rolling papers in Alcoy and that the “RAW Foundation” was nonexistent.
HBI must cease production and sales of all promotions and products that reference the false claims, including the use of the Alcoy stamp, by the end of May. The court also permanently prohibited HBI from making false statements about its products and advertising activities, including claims about the “unrefined” nature of RAW Organic Hemp rolling papers and that they were made with natural hemp gum or powered by wind.
This court ruling is a major blow to HBI and RAW Rolling Papers, as they will have to completely overhaul their production methods and marketing tactics to comply with the court order. The company will have to work quickly to meet the May deadline and ensure that all of its products are in line with the court’s ruling.
updated:
The January 31, 2023 court ruling forbids HBl International from marketing or stating any of the following:
- That HBl and/or RAW® contributes its funds or proceeds to a charitable entity/foundation dubbed the “RAW Foundation”
- That RAW@ Organic Hemp rolling papers are “unrefined”
That RAW@ Organic Hemp rolling paper adhesives are made from natural hemp gum
That RAW® Organic Hemp rolling papers are the world’s first or only organic (or organic hemp) rolling papers
- That RAW® Organic Hemp rolling papers are made in Alcoy, Spain
- That HBl International shall not include a packaging “stamp” using the word Alcoy or referring to Alcoy
- That RAW® Organic Hemp rolling papers utilize wind power
- That RAW® Organic Hemp rolling papers are made from the center of hemp stalks
- That HBl or its founder Joshua Kesselmen invented rolling paper pre-rolled cones
- That OCB® Organic Hemp papers are knock-offs,
“RAWnabees,” copies, or fake versions of RAW® rolling
papers
After May 31, 2023, HBl must cease promoting, selling, or distributing products under any of its other brands in packaging with an Alcoy stamp. These brands include Elements, Juicy Jays, and others.
You can read the entire court documents here:
Updated with Raw’s Response:
A Message from RAW
RAW® is an underdog success story. With your support, we have risen to be a global brand beloved by discriminating smokers. Under the vision of our founder Josh Kesselman, RAW® is now one of the global leaders in rolling papers and smoking innovations.
RAW is an independent company run by a tight-knit team, whose members truly love what they do. We are very proud of our reputation for quality products, the positive standing we have established in the industry, and the love our customers share for the RAW® brand and its values.
You may have heard some hurtful and inaccurate rumors floating around out there about RAW. We deeply regret any uncertainty they have created for our community of supporters – and want to take this opportunity to clarify some aspects of our business:
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RAW® Organic Hemp rolling paper booklets are made in Benimarfull, a quaint village in the Alicante Province of Spain (see the location on Google Maps: Benimarfull)
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Our paper is milled at the finest mills in the South of France, and the milled paper rolls are sent to Benimarfull, Spain where they go through a special process to be made into either the beautiful sheets of RAW in your booklet or finished and sent onwards to be rolled into a cone.
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All RAW® Organic Hemp papers are indeed made with true unbleached certified organic hemp
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As an independently owned company, RAW’s philanthropic efforts of over a decade (now called RAW Giving) have contributed more than $2.5 million in direct cash contributions, plus in-kind contributions of $186,174 to a wide variety of charities. RAW’s in-kind gifts helped the charities raise an additional $590,661 for themselves. These top charities received more than $20,000 each for a total of $2.3 million:
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Water is Life International
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Senai International
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Wine To Water
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Boy’s Hope Girl’s Hope
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Friends of Independent Schools and Better Education
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YMCA
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Home Fur Good
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Gompers Habilitation Center
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Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
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Trees For The Future
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Global Development Group
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Central Arizona Shelter Services
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Arizona Opera
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Americares General Aide and Relief Fund
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PSA Behavioral Health Agency
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CarbonFund.org
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East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
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The name we previously used for our giving efforts may have created the impression that we ourselves were a charity. We are not a charity. Charities raise money by requesting donations. RAW does not. Instead, RAW gives portions of its profits to provide financial support to many charities and other causes central to the values of our brand. In other cases, we provide fundraising opportunities for nonprofits who receive donations directly from our audience. We have updated how we communicate about RAW Giving and continue to be proud of its many achievements.
Sadly, like many other successful companies, RAW is involved in litigation, more than we would like, in order to preserve the value of our company and products. Recently a case that has been ongoing for 7 years resulted in some updates for RAW. The good news is the Jury awarded us $979,620.00 for a competitor’s willful infringement of RAW trade dress and $40,000 statutory damages for willful infringement of RAW copyright. With this victory, RAW has a stronger brand than before. As part of this case, we conceded to an Agreed Order requiring certain changes on some of our packaging and marketing messages. We are sorry for any confusion the litigation outcome has created and are relieved that the recent lawsuit does not negatively affect the sale of any of our products already in the market. Our valued customers and stores who stock RAW’s products will continue to sell them and run their businesses just as before.
We have been innovating and addressing changes to RAW® packaging for many years. This is a common practice and we are updating them again as we speak to better illustrate our brand and product. Rest assured, all RAW® products we sell continue to meet our highest quality standards. None of this diminishes the impeccable quality of our papers nor the organic certification of the hemp we have used for a long time.
Thank you for your love and support of RAW and our products as we continue to strive for the perfect experience for our customers. We all get higher together!
Sincerely,
The RAW® Team
