Costco class action claims Kirkland laundry detergent does not yield 164 loads as advertised

Costco Kirkland laundry detergent class action overview: 

• Who: A Costco detergent consumer is suing the company.
• Why: The plaintiff says the company deceptively markets its Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean detergent. 
• Where: The Costco Kirkland laundry detergent class action was filed in a New York federal court.

Costco misleadingly advertises Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean detergent as containing enough detergent for 146 loads when the small print clarifies that is only if a consumer uses a small amount of detergent per load, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Eukarys Medina filed the class action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corporation Dec. 6 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer law.

Costco makes and sells 5.73 liters of detergent marketed as sufficient for 146 loads of laundry under its Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean brand, Medina says.

Though “146 Loads” grabs the purchaser’s attention, this is followed by a difficult-to-see asterisk, she says. 

Only when the container is reversed and the consumer “wades through a wall of pictures, symbols and words of varying size, font and color,” will they learn the amount of detergent is only sufficient for “146 loads when filled to slightly below line 4 on the cup,” Medina says.

Costco detergent label is misleading, lawsuit alleges

For the majority of Americans who do laundry in loads reasonably characterized as “large,” they will only have enough detergent for roughly 73 loads, Medina alleges.

“The representation of 146 loads when users will achieve half of that number is misleading because it is a significant disparity,” she says.

As a result of the allegedly false and misleading representations, the product is sold at a premium price of $20.59 for 5.73 L, excluding tax and sales. This is higher than similar products, the lawsuit states.

Medina is looking to represent a class of New York consumers who bought the product, plus a consumer fraud multi-state class of consumers from Texas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Utah.

She is suing under state consumer laws and for breach of warranty, unjust enrichment and seeking certification for the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it misleadingly advertises Tide detergent as containing enough detergent for 64 loads when the small print clarifies that is only if a consumer uses a small amount of detergent per load. 

What do you think of the allegations against Costco in this case? Let us know in the comments! 

Medina is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates P.C. and James Chung Law Office. 

The Costco class action lawsuit is Eukarys Medina et al., v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, Case No. 1:22-cv-07388 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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