Dove Class Action Says ‘Pink Tax’ Charged On Women’s Products

A class action lawsuit claims that Dove charges more for women’s products than men’s even though the items are substantially the same. This practice is often referred to as a “pink tax.”

The Dove pink tax class action lawsuit was filed by Karen Schulte against Unilever, the makers of Dove, as well as retailers who sell the product, including Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Target, and others.

Schulte claims that she purchased Dove Advanced Care products from multiple retailers. She says that on these occasions, she observed that the Advanced Care line, marketed towards women, was consistently priced higher than Dove + Men products.

The Dove class action alleges that women are subject to gender-discriminatory pricing by Dove and the retailers, by charging more for an equivalent product because it’s made for women.

The plaintiff claims that she and many other customers were financially injured by this discrimination. She aims to hold Dove and the retailers liable for this injury, and seeks damages on behalf of herself and all other similarly affected customers.

The Dove pink tax class action lawsuit says that Dove’s practice of charging more for women’s products is part of a larger trend of manufacturers and retailers charging more for products marketed towards women than those marketed towards men. Allegedly, this price difference exists even if the products are substantially the same.

The Dove pricing class action lawsuit says that Dove and the retailers effective force women to pay more for products that their male counterparts can purchase for less, and also separates the products in different sections to attempt to conceal the price difference.

According to Schulte, the Dove Advanced Care products are indeed substantially similar to Dove + Men. She notes that the products have the same active ingredients and have almost identical ingredient lists. She also notes that the men’s products even have more of the active ingredient than the women’s products, in the case of the deodorants.

The deodorant pink tax class action lawsuit argues that because of Dove’s choice to price the products marketed towards women higher, women are faced with a choice to either pay more for a product that does appeal to them, or shop for men’s products that may not appeal to them, to save money on the difference.

Schulte claims that the difference in price constitutes gender-discrimination because the pricing does not “deal ‘equally’ with purchasers of female-oriented products who are required to pay substantially more than purchasers of the male-oriented version of the exact same product.”

Allegedly, this practice violates Missouri law, which prohibits gender discrimination, and entitles all Missouri citizens to “full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, and /or services regardless of factors like sex and/or race.”

The makers of Schick razors have also faced a pink tax class action over allegedly charging more for Quattro razors for women than for men.

In related legal news, the U.K. supermarket chain Tesco issued an apology after telling one consumer feminine hygiene products are a “nonessential” product during a 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. 

What do you think of the “pink tax” issue? Have you ever experienced it?

Schulte is represented by Daniel F. Harvath of Harvath Law Group LLC.

The Dove Pink Tax Class Action Lawsuit is Karen Schulte v. Conopco Inc., et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-02546-RWS, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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