Connecticut-based toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker is suing Stanley 1913, the Seattle company that makes trendy travel mugs involved in a recent safety recall.
The Stanley 1913 mugs have a logo depicting a bear with a crown. They have grown in popularity after being promoted by online influencers in recent years. The mugs are often sold in colors that coordinate with lipstick, or accessories like handbags and cellphone covers.
Stanley Black & Decker is known for its iconic yellow and black colors. For more than 150 years, the company has made hammers, saws and tape measures that pound, rip and drill.
In a filing in federal court in Connecticut earlier this week, Stanley Black & Decker says its trademark has been violated by the mug company.
The New Britain business says the mug-maker is breaking decades of previous agreements about how the Stanley name can be used, by identifying itself as just Stanley, instead of using the name Stanley PMI.
The mug company is owned by Pacific Market International and PMI WW Brands.
Stanley Black & Decker says its reputation was irreparably damaged by last year’s recall of millions of Stanley PMI’s products.
In December, PMI announced a recall of approximately 2.6 million Stanley-branded steel travel mugs. The company received nearly 100 complaints about lids coming loose, which led to dozens of burn injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Stanley PMI later offered free replacement lids for the affected products.
“PMI’s recent growth has been accompanied by several waves of negative press associating STANLEY with, for example, lead poisoning and burn hazards,” Stanley Black & Decker wrote in its lawsuit. “For example, in February 2024, PMI was sued by customers and there were widespread media reports regarding concerns that ‘Stanley’ failed to disclose that its products contained lead.”
While its products can contain lead, Stanley PMI says on its website that they meet U.S. regulatory standards and are safe.
But the tool company says some consumers – and even a reporter from “The New Yorker” – remain confused about which company makes the recalled mugs.
Stanley 1913 did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment. The company has yet to respond to the lawsuit in court.
On its website, the Seattle-based travel mug maker says it was founded in 1913 by inventor William Stanley, Jr.
