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SC Johnson has been hit with a class action lawsuit claiming that Method cleaning products contain harmful and toxic ingredients.
Method cleaning products are reportedly marketed as “non-toxic,” allowing SC Johnson to charge a premium price for these cleaners. However, these representations are false, according to allegations from California resident Felicia Toth.
Toth says she purchased several Method cleaning products which stated that they were “non-toxic.” The plaintiff allegedly relied on these representations when choosing a cleaning product, but was shocked to find out that the products actually contained several toxic ingredients.
The lawsuit explains that an increasing number of consumers specifically look for non-toxic products to use in their daily lives. This includes cleaning products, as consumers want more natural, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional household cleaners.
As a result of this demand, a non-toxic household products market has developed. Products sold in this category are often sold with representations that they are “non-toxic” and “plant based.”
The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has established new guidelines to help standardize these representations and to “help marketers avoid making environmental marketing claims that are unfair or deceptive.”
Under FTC regulations, “it is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product, package or service is non-toxic” and “a non-toxic claim likely conveys that a product, package, or service is non-toxic for humans and for the environment generally.”
The FTC says that, when making “non-toxic” claims, marketers must have reliable scientific evidence or “should clearly and prominently qualify their claims to avoid deception.”
Unfortunately, SC Johnson allegedly fails to comply with these requirements when marketing their Method household cleaner.
Contrary to their claims, the products reportedly contain a variety of cleaning agents which disqualify the cleaners from making a “non-toxic” claim, including: dipropylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, linalool, methylisothiazolinone, limonene and octylisothiazolinone.
Dipropylene glycol is a synthetic ingredient which is allegedly used as a fragrance in Method household cleaner, Squirt and Mop Floor Cleaner, and Granite Cleaner. This ingredient has reportedly been show to cause temporary eye irritation when exposed to the eyes.
Phenoxyethanol is another synthetic ingredient found in various Method cleaning products including Squirt and Mop Floor Cleaner and Steel for Real cleaner. This ingredient can reportedly cause irritation to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. When swallowed, phenoxyethanol has reportedly been show to have “deleterious” effects on the nervous system which could lead to “impaired functions.”
Linalool, found in the Method household cleaner and Squirt and Mop floor cleaner, can reportedly cause serious eye damage in addition to irritating the skin and eyes. Toth notes that this ingredient can also have negative environmental effects by harming aquatic life.
Method cleaning products, including Squirt and Mop floor cleaner, Steel for Real cleaner and Daily Granite cleaner, allegedly contain methylisothiazolinone. In 2013, this ingredient was reportedly named the Allergen of the Year and “has exhibited skin sensitization effects and may also cause systemic acute toxicity and local effects such as eczema and contact allergy reactions.”
Limonene, allegedly found in the Method household cleaner, Steel for Real cleaner, and Daily Granite cleaner, is reportedly used to substitute significantly toxic ingredients such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons and other solvents.
However, this ingredient reportedly also has negative effects including skin irritation characterized by burning, itching, aching, and a long lasting rash.
The last ingredient called out by the class action lawsuit, octylisothiazolinone, is found as a preservative in the Method Daily Granite cleaner. Unfortunately, this ingredient can allegedly cause toxic effects to marine and sediment dwelling life.
Toth argues that the inclusion of these ingredients disqualifies Method cleaning products from the “non-toxic” label.
Unfortunately, the plaintiff says that most consumers would be unable to identify these ingredients as potential toxins, meaning that they could be misled by the product packaging which touts the cleaners as “non-toxic.”
“The Product’s ‘non-toxic’ claim signifies to reasonable consumers that the Products will not be harmful to people (including small children), common pets or the environment,” the Method cleaning products class action lawsuit argues.
“A reasonable consumer’s understanding of ‘will not harm’ is not limited to toxins that cause death but ‘also various types of temporary physical illness, such as vomiting, rash and gastrointestinal upset.’”
As a result of these claims, Toth and other consumers have allegedly been injured financially as they would not have purchased the products or would have paid significantly less had they been aware of the toxic contents of the products.
Have you purchased Method cleaning products? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
Toth and the proposed Class are represented by Michael R. Reese and George V. Granade of Reese LLP and Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.
The Method Cleaning Products Class Action Lawsuit is Felicia Toth v. SC Johnson & Son Inc., et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-03553, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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1,163 thoughts onMethod Class Action Says Cleaning Products Are Toxic
I have used a lot of their products and live in Australia I have developed very dry hand itchy and sore which I couldn’t find why maybes it’s these products not wearing gloves because I thought they were safe
Add me!
I have been using Method cleaning products for years under the assumption that they are plant based and non toxic. I never really thought about why I cough and my eyes water every time I clean with them because I believed they were safe. I am incensed that companies can get away with lying about their products using deceptive terms. I will never buy another one of their products and would like to be added to the lawsiut.
Please add me and my husband as we own a cleaning service in Bristol that we started back in 2020. Last year around thanksgiving I got sick with Covid when I did return back to work I knew my immune system was out of whack, but all of a sudden in the month of December right before Christmas. My face and neck broke out in horrible and I mean horrible big red knots that looked like spider bites. I’m so glad I still have pictures to this day, but it wouldn’t matter if I did have pictures because I break out in these big red knots that turn to sores .. my husband didn’t break out in a rash that he has been having intestinal problems with his stomach nodding up and cramping. He is constantly in pain around his waist line and we’re pretty young and healthy. Otherwise we are both 38 years old just turned 38 this year, so this stuff made us sick. I was looking into the yellow Pine-Sol which also has a recall on it if anyone has used it, and it is a bad strand of bacteria that ran through all the Pine-Sol’s on the market, except for the original brown Pine-Sol, we have already talk to a lawyer, that we actually claim for and his family uses method as well , so we are at the point now learning this today about method. We need a way to figure out which product is making us sick because we use the yellow Pine-Sol just as much as we did the method and do you know how bad it’s going to suck for us to have to tell our clients for our cleaning service that if they’ve had any symptoms of this nature that my cleaning service using these products could’ve possibly made them sick. That alone makes me sick, so I definitely have some lawsuits coming up. FYI I have been put on two different antibiotics to clear the rash on my chin and neck. Neither anabiotic worked, and both antibiotics were very strong, including getting rid of Mersa that is basically what these big red knots ended up turning into, and I see a lot of people on here writing about eczema and having their eczema flare up easily by using this well I’ve never had eczema in my life and I’m almost 40 so it didn’t cause me to have a flareup from eczema it basically caused me to have eczema which then turn to mrsa . I’m just mind blown at this point.
I’ve had to be exposed to this toxic cleaning product because people in my household insisted that it was natural because of the false labeling. However my body and reaction to it said otherwise
I’ve purchased years of Method cleaning products and was just searching the site because I submitted all of my receipts because I was in a monthly service where I received many different products for which I paid.
Please add me…I have several in my home right now and am beyond disgusted and disturbed that these companies continue to falsely advertise and cause health issues for people who purchase their products believing they are safe and “clean” products. Now that I know this, I am praying that some skin and breathing issues can be eliminated.
I have been using the Method Grapefruit spray cleaner for many years I would guess 18-20 years. I started using this because of the labeling which clearly states “Natural surface cleaner” and “with non-toxic plant based powergreen ™ technology” When I’ve used this product I can feel it in my nose and lungs, I can’t exactly describe the sensation but it is distinct. I had not been concerned about this sort of “tingling” sensation as I thought “Oh it’s only plants” it’s not toxic chemicals. Feel free to contact me via my methods listed under my profile on this Top Class Actions website. Thank you, Cathy Pietrzyk
This product has damage my hair skin and nails all from just using it a couple times it burns my eyes and throat too. I once we recommended this product now i fear it. Please add me to this lawsuit.
All these detergents that are not sense free causes me great breathing problems. So does the air freshners as well. Add me please to these lawsuits.
Please add me to this suit. The laundry detergent caused severe itching.
All these detergents that are not sense free causes me great breathing problems. So does the air freshners as well. Add me please to these lawsuits.