Forced arbitration with Smartwool socks
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Smartwool is a brand of wool clothing. The incident described in this article is a example EULA roofieing, where one a business attempts to create a contract on the basis of no-response from customers. Often this is done as prudence for business interests. However, it creates the potential for unjust situations[1]. To illustrate the magnitude of risk posed by a clothing-related EULA, one can imagine a less responsible company having inadvertently used toxic dyes or coatings due to supply chain mishaps. In such a case they might avoid paying damages to the harmed consumers.
A feature of this example is the strategic use of asymmetry. The business delivered their opt-in in a inexpensive, unexpected, and casual nature. The consumer has to do absolutely nothing to opt-in, and they opt-in without reading it. Opting out is difficult, tedious and relatively expensive.
Incident of EULA roofieing
According to a viewer of the Rossman channel,[2] Smartwool emailed a list of their account holders stating that they were opting them into forced arbitration, and to opt out, they must send a letter. through USPS Priority Mail, which is not the First Class mail that people typically use for mailing letters.
In addition to the typical loss of rights associated with arbitration, the customers were opted in via email and could not simply reply to the email to opt out.[3]
References
Video associated with this article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=670rwHz1WV8