Simple Green Class Action Says Cleaner is Toxic

A California woman says that Sunshine Makers Inc. falsely advertises its popular cleaner Simple Green as being “non-toxic.”

According to Michelle Moran, the Simple Green cleaner claims to be not harmful to animals, people, and the environment.

Moran says that despite representations that Simple Green products are non-toxic, they contain ingredients known to caused health problems, such as blurred vision, asphyxiation, dizziness, nausea, blistering of the skin, muscular twitching, headaches, and irregular heartbeat.

The Simple Green toxic class action lawsuit alleges that “in spite of their labeling, the Products actually contain, in varying combinations, ingredients that are harmful to humans, animals, and/or the environment, including but not limited to alcohol ethoxylates, sodium carbonate, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, surfactants, sodium chloride, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, butane, propane, sodium hydroxide, and cocamidopropyl betaine.”

Further, alleges the complaint, some ingredients are “potential human carcinogens.”

Moran claims she purchased Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner in California in 2019. She says that she relied on claims on the packaging that the cleaner was non-toxic when deciding to make her purchase.

She says there is no way that average consumers, who don’t have a sophisticated understanding of how chemicals used in household cleaners work, would know that Simple Green cleaners contain ingredients that can be toxic.

“Labeling the Products as ‘Non-Toxic’ or ‘Non-Toxic Formula’ when they contain any ingredients that can be harmful to humans, animals, and/or the environment is wholly misleading and deceptive,” alleges the Simple Green cleaner class action lawsuit.

The complaint names dozens of Simple Green toxic products that are falsely advertised as non-toxic, including its All-Purpose Cleaner, various pet cleaners, and other household cleaners.

The plaintiff accuses Sunshine Makers of making millions of dollars from the allegedly deceptive advertising of their products as non-toxic.

“By using harmful ingredients in lieu of natural, safe ingredients, on information and belief, Defendant reduced its manufacturing costs and increased its profits,” claims the complaint.

According to the Simple Green toxic class action lawsuit, the demand for non-toxic cleaning products by consumers has increased in recent years and is expected to keep on expanding, up to $40 billion by 2025.

The Simple Green manufacturers allegedly took advantage of this trend by deceiving consumers into paying more for toxic products.

“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 when, in fact, they contain ingredients that are harmful to humans, animals, and/or the environment,” states the complaint.

The Federal Trade Commission issued “Green Guidelines” in response to concerns about fraudulent claims by cleaning product companies, points out the plaintiff.

The guidelines specifically address “non-toxic” claims, notes the complaint, restricting the use of the term in a way that would be deceptive to reasonable consumers.

As an example, the FTC guidance states that a cleaning product that labeled as “essentially non-toxic” or “practically non-toxic” conveys to the consumer that the product “does not pose any risk to humans or the environment, including household pets.”

If the product does not pose a risk to humans, but does to the environment, use of these terms to describe the product would be considered deceptive, concludes the FTC.

The “broad and unqualified non-toxic claims, such as the ones present on the [Simple Green] Products, would even more strongly convey such a meaning” and violate FTC guidelines, contends the Simple Green cleaner toxic class action lawsuit.

“Through its unlawful conduct, Defendant obtains an unfair competitive advantage in the household cleaning market and unfairly profits from consumers’ desire for products that are not harmful to humans, animals, and the environment,”  argues the Simple Green toxic class action lawsuit.

The Simple Green cleaner toxic class action lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide Class, as well as a California subclass, of consumers who purchased the products under the impression they were non-toxic.

Sunshine Makers is being accused of violating California business and consumer protection laws, breaching their warranties to consumers, and profiting from unjust enrichment.

The plaintiff is seeking damages from Sunshine Makers for her Simple Green cleaner toxic allegations, along with a court order requiring the company to stop its false advertising.

Do you use Simple Green? Are you concerned about the Simple Green toxic allegations in the class action lawsuit? Tell us what you think in the comments section below!

The lead plaintiff and proposed Class Members are represented by Ryan J. Clarkson, Shireen M. Clarkson, Matthew T. Theriault; Celine Cohan of Clarkson Law Firm PC; and Christopher D. Moon and Kevin O. Moon of Moon Law APC.

The Simple Green Toxic Class Action Lawsuit is Michelle Moran v. Sunshine Makers Inc., Case No. 4:20-cv-03242, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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