After years of tireless debate and losing our voices (and our friends) in screaming matches, we can finally put one of life’s greatest mysteries to rest: A Snuggie is a blanket, not apparel.
According to Quartz, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on Feb. 10 that Snuggies, the “blanket with sleeves,” should be classified as blankets, rather than robes or “priestly vestments.”
So, why was a judge forced to differentiate between a Snuggie and priestly garments? Apparently, Allstar Marketing Group, which makes the Snuggie, has been fighting the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Customs and Border Protection since 2010 over the designation of its product.
In 2010, Allstar Marketing Group protested that the Snuggie was classified as a garment in the Harmonized Tariff System, which sets duty rates for items. Its specific classification, which it shared with leotards, bathing suits, jumpsuits and pullover apparel, had an import duty of 14.9 percent, compared to just 8.5 for blankets.
The Department of Justice argued that the Snuggie resembled “clerical or ecclesiastical garments and vestments” and “professional or scholastic gowns and robes,” due to its wide, flowing sleeves and loose fit.
In its defense, Allstar Marketing Group dug its feet in, claiming that the fact that Snuggies don’t have closures, while the other examples do, makes the ma blanket. The company also pointed to the original Snuggie packaging and marketing materials, which specifically billed the item as “a blanket with sleeves.”
In last week’s ruling, judge Mark Barnett ruled in favor of Allstar Marketing Group, saying that, while the Snuggie technically has a “one size fits all” fit, the word “fit” in this context is a misnomer.
“The Snuggie’s physical characteristics and features, such as its dimensions and lack of rear closure, do not resemble a ‘normal article of apparel,’ or any article ‘ordinarily worn’ in any ‘commonplace … way,'” Barnett said, according to Quartz.
So, there you have it. We can now settle our feuds with our friends, and some of us need to write apology letters to our respective alma maters for trying to wear Snuggies to graduation ceremonies.
