Roots, the iconic Canadian apparel brand, has filed a federal trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Meijer, a major Michigan-based supercenter chain. The lawsuit, filed on August 8, 2025 in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan seeks to halt Meijer’s launch of a private-label kids’ clothing line, “Roots & Threads,” alleging that the move unlawfully trades on Roots’ decades-old trademark rights and constitutes an outright attempt to trade on the goodwill and consumer recognition surrounding the ROOTS mark.

The Dispute: “Roots & Threads” Versus “ROOTS”

Meijer, which operates over 500 supercenters across the Midwest, recently applied to register “Roots & Threads” as a trademark and plans to launch a new children’s apparel collection under that name for the 2025 back-to-school season. According to the lawsuit, Roots learned of Meijer’s plans through routine trademark monitoring and alleges that Meijer’s actions, if left unchecked, will cause “inevitable…