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Dr. Squatch class action overview:
- Who: A shampoo customer sued Dr. Squatch over one of its shampoos.
- Why: The customer says the company markets its shampoo as natural when it really contains synthetic ingredients.
- Where: The Dr. Squatch class action lawsuit was filed in an Illinois federal court.
Dr. Squatch markets one of its shampoos as “natural” when it contains multiple synthetic ingredients, increasing its bottom line while deceiving customers, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Lauren Fleming filed the class action lawsuit against Dr. Squatch, LLC Sept. 8 in an Illinois federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
Dr. Squatch makes and sells cosmetics described as “natural,” such as a “Men’s Natural Shampoo,” under the Dr. Squatch brand, the class action states.
However, despite being represented as natural, the product contains several unnatural ingredients, according to the lawsuit.
In the Dr. Squatch class action, Fleming lists all of the ingredients in the shampoo. Many of these are not natural, she states.
For example, she claims decyl glucoside is not natural because it is made by chemical condensation with glucose polymers.
Glycerin is recognized by federal regulations as synthetic and is a factory-produced texturizer created by complex processing, she further alleges.
Other allegedly unnatural ingredients include coco-glucoside, a synthetic ingredient obtained by the condensation of glucose and coconut alcohol with acid catalysts at high temperatures, and fragrance, the Dr. Squatch class action claims.
Dr. Squatch class action alleges defendant sold more of product at higher prices due to its ‘natural’ claims
For a product to be natural, it needs to have been extracted from a naturally occurring source and not undergone any chemical changes, Fleming states.
“Consumers lack the meaningful ability to test or independently ascertain or verify whether a product is natural, especially at the point of sale,” the Dr. Squatch class action claims. “Discovering that the ingredients are not natural and are actually synthetic requires a scientific investigation and knowledge of chemistry beyond that of the average consumer.”
As a result, the defendant sold more of the product and at higher prices than it would have if it hadn’t marketed the product as natural, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers, the lawsuit states.
Fleming looks to represent a class of consumers from Illinois who bought the product, plus a consumer fraud multistage class from North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Nebraska, South Carolina, Kansas and Wyoming.
She sues under state consumer laws and for breach of warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment and negligent mispreseprentaiton and seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, Burt’s Bees faces a class action lawsuit alleging it mislabels some of its lip cosmetics products as “100% natural” when they allegedly contain hydrogenated oils which consumers would not consider natural.
Do you use Dr. Squatch shampoo? What do you think of the claims in the lawsuit? Let us know your experience in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates, P.C.
The Dr. Squatch class action lawsuit is Lauren Fleming v. Dr. Squatch, LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-04842, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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