Target’s Up&Up Hand Sanitizer Falsely Claims it Kills 99.99 Percent of Germs, Class Action Alleges

Target falsely advertises that its Up&Up brand hand sanitizer kills 99.99 percent of germs, despite being incapable of killing many prevalent germs – including some of the most harmful ones, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois on June 5 by lead Plaintiff Mike Ross, who alleges that the company lied about its product’s ability to kill germs, misleading customers and making them pay an unnecessary premium.

Ross says that he bought the hand sanitizer from Target more than once between Nov. 2020 and Jan. 2021 due to the labeling on the bottle that says the product kills 99.99 percent of germs.

“Plaintiff believed that the precision of this claim meant it was supported by scientifically valid studies, when this was not true,” the claim states, adding Ross thought the labeling claim included germs of material significance, such as norovirus.

Ross says that the labeling gave him the understanding that the hand sanitizer was more effective than soap and water in killing germs.

However, the claim states that no scientific study indicates any alcohol-based hand sanitizer kills 99.99 percent of germs, and instead studies show alcohol-based hand sanitizers are incapable of killing many types of germs, including the most harmful and prevalent germs.

“For instance, the Product is unable to kill non-enveloped viruses, like norovirus. Norovirus is the virus which causes more than 58 percent of foodborne illnesses in this country,” the class action lawsuit says.

“The Product is not able to kill other germs of significance, such as protozoan cysts, bacterial spores, parasites like Giardia, and Clostridium difficile, which causes diarrhea.”

The claim adds that over the past decade, it has been shown that many bacteria, such as enterococcus faecium, are becoming alcohol-resistant, which makes the front label statements further misleading.

Although there is fine print on the back of the bottle that says “in miniscule font beneath the Drug Facts, *Effective at eliminating 99.99% of many common harmful germs and bacteria in as little as 15 seconds, the disclaimer is insufficient to overcome misleading front label claims”, the class action lawsuit says.

“Even if plaintiff scrutinized the labeling to discover this statement, it still would not tell him that the Product is unable to kill the most relevant and prominent germs, such as norovirus, enterococcus and other emerging germs of concern.”

Ross wants to represent anyone who bought the product in Illinois. He is suing for breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, unjust enrichment, and breach of state business laws. He seeks certification of the Class, injunctive relief, damages, interest, legal fees, and jury trial.

Target is facing a separate class action lawsuit for allegedly selling Apple iTunes gift cards that have been tampered. More than a dozen consumers filed the nationwide class action, saying that the retailer knowingly sells Apple iTunes gift cards that can be used by scammers to access money customers put on the cards.

Did you buy Up&Up brand hand sanitizer under the impression it would kill most common germs? Let us know in the comments section!

Ross is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates, P.C.

The Target Hand Sanitizer Class Action Lawsuit is Ross v. Target Corporation, Case No. 1:21-cv-03028, in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois.  

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