NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - The maker of Reynolds

Wrap aluminum foil is being sued in a proposed class action

claiming it misleads consumers by saying the foil is "Made in

USA" though much of the raw material and manufacturing comes

from elsewhere.

According to a complaint on Wednesday night, substantially

all bauxite that Reynolds Consumer Products ( REYN ) uses in its

foil comes from outside the United States, which accounts for

only a small percentage of global production of the ore.

The complaint filed in Manhattan federal court also says a

substantial amount of the bauxite is transformed into alumina

and then into aluminum outside the United States.

This makes Reynolds' "Foil Made in USA" claim on its

packaging false and misleading to reasonable consumers, because

they "value buying products which are made in America" and

therefore would pay more, the complaint said.

Reynolds, based in Lake Forest, Illinois, declined to

comment, saying it does not discuss pending litigation.

The lawsuit is led by Anaya Washington of Bronx, New York,

and seeks at least $5 million of damages for New Yorkers who

bought Reynolds Wrap foil in the last three years.

Washington said she bought her foil at a Target because she

trusted the Reynolds Wrap brand, calling it as familiar as

Kleenex and Vaseline, and likes to "buy American." She said she

wouldn't have done so had she known where her foil came from.

The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing companies of using

insufficiently precise labeling that induces shoppers to pay

more, including through appeals to their patriotism.

In 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted a "Made

in USA Labeling Rule," which the complaint cites, to protect

businesses and consumers from being misled over product origins.

The case is Washington v Reynolds Consumer Products LLC,

U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

24-02327.