The Honest Co. has been hit with about a dozen class actions claiming it’s anything but honest when it comes to the ingredients in its products.
Most of the suits allege that its laundry detergent, dish soap and multiple-surface cleaner contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which can irritate the skin, despite statements by the company that they don’t use the harsh chemical. Other suits have been brought over its infant formula and sunscreen.
Two suits also name actress Jessica Alba, who co-founded The Honest Co. in 2012 as a healthier alternative to most baby, cosmetic and household products.
Plaintiffs lawyers have moved to coordinate most of the suits into multidistrict litigation in Los Angeles, near the company’s Santa Monica, California, headquarters. An attorney for the company, William Donovan, a partner at the Santa Monica, California, office of Cooley, supported the move, which the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is set to take up at its July 28 hearing in Seattle. But in a May 3 filing, he said the company “vigorously denies the claims and allegations.”
The suits come as The Honest Co., valued at about $1.7 billion, has been working this year to go public.
On March 10, The Wall Street Journal published an article citing two independent lab tests that found sodium lauryl sulfate in The Honest Co.’s laundry detergent, despite the company’s claims that it didn’t contain the chemical. Specifically, the tests found that sodium coco sulfate, the ingredient in The Honest Co.’s detergent that it claims is gentler on skin, actually contains sodium lauryl sulfate.
On its blog, The Honest Co. accused The Wall Street Journal of publishing “factual inaccuracies and misleading statements.”
In comparing the two ingredients, the company said that “though both are derived from coconut oil, their molecular makeup is quite different.”
The lawsuits are the latest series of mass tort actions to come out of a news report. Class actions alleging that four brands mislabeled their “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” were filed following a Feb. 16 article on Bloomberg.com that used independent studies to test the products. And an episode of “60 Minutes” last year spurred lawsuits over the labeling of Lumber Liquidators Inc.’s laminated wood flooring.
In addition to the lawsuits before the multidistrict litigation panel, two class actions brought in September 2015, which have since been consolidated, challenge The Honest Co.’s “natural” claims in several of its products. They also claim its sunscreen doesn’t work at all, leaving people with severe sunburns.
And an April 6 lawsuit brought by the Organic Consumers Association claims its organic premium infant formula isn’t actually organic. That lawsuit, the company wrote on its blog, “we wholeheartedly believe will be dismissed.”
Originally published on law.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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