A class action lawsuit has been filed against Rust-Oleum Corporation by a consumer who claims the company falsely advertises its Krud Kutter home cleaner as “Non-Toxic.”
Plaintiff Anthony Bush says Krud Kutter home cleaner products are toxic because they contain ingredients that have been linked to lung irritation, skin irritation, sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, and shortness of breath.
Bush states the Krud Kutter products also contain numerous household cleaner ingredients that are harmful to humans, animals and the environment.
The plaintiff alleges that Rust-Oleum sought to take advantage of consumers’ desire to purchase non-toxic cleaning products that are safe for people, pets and the environment, while using less desirable, harmful ingredients in their products.
Bush is seeking injunctive relief in an attempt to stop the defendant’s unlawful labeling and advertising of the products.
The plaintiff claims that he purchased Krud Kutter Original Cleaner & Degreaser (Aerosol) and Krud Kutter Tough Task Remover at a Home Depot for $6 and $7 respectively.
He states that in purchasing the products, he relied on the claims made by advertisements and on the label. He says if he had known that the Krud Kutter home cleaner products contained household cleaner ingredients that were harmful, he would not have purchased the product.
Bush says that if the products were actually non-toxic as advertised and labeled, he would purchase the products in the future. To be sure, the plaintiff maintains that he is not sophisticated in the formulations of household cleaning ingredients and thus he is at risk of assuming the defendant had fixed the formulation so that he might buy them again.
“In response to consumers’ desire for safe and non-toxic cleaning products, many companies ‘greenwash’ their products by deceptively claiming that their cleaning products are safe,” the Rust-Oleum class action lawsuit says.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) thus created the “Green Guides,” which assist companies in avoiding making misleading and deceptive claims, the plaintiff says.
Bush claims that the “Green Guides” specifically address the use of the term “Non-Toxic” in the marketing of products. The FTC states that it is deceptive to misrepresent that a product, package or service is non-toxic.
Bush alleges that because of concerns regarding safe and non-toxic cleaning products, consumers have deliberately sought out these types of products for use in their homes and the sales of these types of products have skyrocketed.
The plaintiff also states that based on the “Non-Toxic” and “Earth Friendly” representations on the Krud Kutter home cleaning products, a reasonable customer would believe the products contain household cleaner ingredients that are safe for humans, animals and the environment.
However, despite these claims, the plaintiff alleges the products contain ingredients such as potassium hydroxide, monoethanolamine, butane, alcohol ethoxylates, diethanolamine, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, sodium metasilicate, and poly(oxy-1,2- ethanediyl),.alpha.-(2-propylheptyl)-.omega.-hydroxy that are harmful to humans, animals and the environment.
As an example, the plaintiff points out that potassium hydroxide is a dangerous chemical because it is corrosive to tissue and can cause severe burns of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes.
In addition, Bush says if this household cleaner ingredient is ingested, it can cause internal bleeding, scarring of tissue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and lowered blood pressure that can result in a person’s collapse.
“By misleadingly and deceptively labeling the Products, as described herein, Defendant sought to take advantage of consumers’ desire for true non-toxic, safe cleaning products. Defendant has done so at the expense of unwitting consumers—many of whom seek to protect their household members and pets—and Defendant’s lawfully acting competitors, over whom Defendant has an unfair competitive advantage,” the Rust-Oleum class action lawsuit argues.
Bush states that at the time he purchased these products, he did not know, and had no reason to know, that the products’ labeling of the household cleaner ingredients were false, misleading, deceptive, and unlawful.
Bush says the defendant materially misled and failed to inform consumers that the product contained household cleaner ingredients that are harmful to people, animals and the planet.
“Defendant knew and knows that the Products are not ‘non-toxic’ or ‘earth friendly,’ though Defendant intentionally advertised and marketed the Products to deceive reasonable consumers into believing that Products were ‘non-toxic’ and ‘earth friendly’,” the Rust-Oleum class action lawsuit states.
There are two potential Classes in the Rust-Oleum class action lawsuit: 1) “All residents of the United States who, within the applicable statute of limitations periods, purchased the Products”; and 2) “All residents of California who, within four years prior to the filing of this Complaint, purchased the Products.”
Did you purchase any of the Krud Kutter Rust-Oleum products thinking they were non-toxic? Let us know in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Ryan J. Clarkson, Shireen M. Clarkson, Matthew T. Theriault, and Celine Cohan of Clarkson Law Firm and Christoper D. Moon and Kevin O. Moon of Moon Law APC.
The Rust-Oleum Krud Kutter Class Action Lawsuit is Anthony Bush v. Rust-Oleum Corporation, Case No. 3:20-cv-03268, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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171 thoughts onKrud Kutter Class Action Alleges Non-Toxic Label is False
Please add me. I bought only because it said non toxic. I am chemical intolerant. I sprayed some grease stains with it and for 3 days after have terrible metallic taste in mouth and tongue hurts. I am very upset they are allowed to mislabsl and hurt people.
The use of these environmental unfriendly, hazardous, human and animal dangerous components by manufacturers in their so called “friendly” all purpose cleaners/degreasers must be stopped. Not only all the products of Krudd Kutter are dangerous but also
Simple Green: Simple Green has long appealed to consumers looking for a household cleaner that seems less hazardous than, say, Fantastik or Formula 409. And the manufacturer cultivates an image of an eco-friendly product.
But Simple Green isn’t simple. And critics complain it isn’t so green, either. The familiar, dark-green all-purpose cleaner with the sassafras scent contains 2-butoxyethanol, a chemical that has damaged red blood cells in lab animals and “may be a carcinogen in humans,” warns New Jersey’s Department of Health and Human Services. When the nonprofit Environmental Working Group tested a variety of school cleaners, it found Simple Green spewed 2-butoxyethanol and 92 other chemicals into the air, including one linked to cancer (acetaldehyde) and another linked to both cancer and asthma (formaldehyde).
Scrubbing Bubbles
These products contain chemicals banned in the European Union including DEGBE, which can irritate and inflame the lungs.
EASY-OFF Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner
the chemicals in this cleaner can also burn your skin and eyes
Citra-Solv Cleaner & Degreaser
Even though some cleaners contain ingredients derived from plants instead of petroleum, that doesn’t mean they’re safe. Case in point: this cleaner and degreaser is made from d-limonene and orange oils from citrus peels. Sounds innocent, but when sprayed into the air these oils can react with trace levels of ozone air pollution to form ultra-fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs.
Clorox, Fantastik, Febreze, Formula 409, Easy-Off, Lysol, Mr. Clean and Spic and Span
Many of these brand name spray cleaners are laced with ingredients that cause asthma, including quaternary ammonium compounds or ethanolamine. These chemicals can trigger asthma attacks and even cause new cases of the disease. These products essentially spray these dangerous chemicals directly into your home’s air.
DampRid Mildew Stain Remover Plus Blocker
This bathroom cleaner contains up to 10 percent of a toxic solvent called 2-butoxyethanol. Canada only allows this chemical’s use in non-aerosol cleaners up to 6 percent. As if that wasn’t enough of a hazardous toxin for one cleaning product, this product also includes nonylphenol ethoxylate, a chemical prohibited in cleaners in the European Union.
And………….so many more cleaning products are unsafe.
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I bought this product from Wal-Mart thinking it was safe. Fumes were terrible and irritated my eyes. Please add me to the list
Yes I’m mad I brought it thinking it was safe to use around my farm animals. ITS not it will burn their feet. It’s not to be ingested you know farm animals love dirty water on the floor. I’m very very upset
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I used this a week ago and my dog had a bad reaction in her eyes sneezing and itching. She still is having itchy skin reaction after bathing 1st day. Going to get tomorrow. :( :(
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Bought and used this product. Fumes really bad. Add me please
I purchased Krud Kutter because I have asthma. Using this product caused wheezing and a tight chest. Companies should sop misleading consumers.