Aveeno Active Naturals False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit

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Johnson & Johnson was hit with another class action lawsuit Tuesday over allegations it falsely advertises its Aveeno line of personal care products as “natural.”

The products in question include Aveeno Active Naturals Creamy Moisturizing Oil, Aveeno Active Naturals Therapeutic Shave Gel, Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish+Moisturize Shampoo & Conditioner, and other Aveeno Active Naturals Products.

“Unfortunately for consumers and their children, the Aveeno Products are not natural. Rather, the Products contain harmful, unnatural, synthetic ingredients,” plaintiff Michael Goldemberg claims in the class action lawsuit.

This isn’t the first time Johnson & Johnson has been accused of falsely advertising its Aveeno line of products as “natural.” In January, two moms launched a deceptive marketing class action lawsuit against the company for allegedly tricking consumers into believing its Aveeno baby wash products are all-natural when they actually contain numerous unnatural and synthetic chemicals.

Goldemberg says he purchased Aveeno Active Naturals products several times over the past two years and paid a premium price for them, believing that the products were — as they said — “natural.” He says he would not have paid as much as he did for the products if he had known they contained synthetic ingredients.

In fact, research shows that consumers are willing to pay more for products if they contain a “natural” label, the class action lawsuit says. Labels strongly impact consumer behavior and make them more willing to purchase products they believe to be healthier.

This suggests that Johnson & Johnson and other companies are “taking advantage of consumer confusion between certified organic labels and the often deceptive ‘natural’ label” to induce them into paying more for a product, the Aveeno class action lawsuit continues.

As proof that J&J is trying to deceive consumers, Goldemberg says J&J lists the synthetic, unnatural and sometimes harmful ingredients on the back of the product packaging in small, hard-to-read print, and omits them entirely from their website.

The fact that the ingredients are listed on the product packaging at all – however small and hard-to-read – may not bode well for Goldemberg. A Minnesota judge last week dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing General Mills Inc. of falsely advertising that its Nature Valley granola bars were “all natural” because the offending artificial ingredients were listed in the product label. However, other class action lawsuits over deceptive “all natural” labeling claims have survived despite the synthetic ingredients being listed.

Goldemberg is seeking to represent all consumers who purchased Aveeno products in New York. He is asking for punitive and statutory damages for claims of unjust enrichment, breach of express warranty and violations of state business law.

The Aveeno Active Naturals False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit case is Goldemberg v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc., Case No. 13-cv-03073, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Goldemberg  is represented by Douglas G. Blankinship, Jeremiah L. Frei-Pearson and Todd S. Garber of Meiselman Packman Nealon Scialabba & Baker PC and Michael R. Reese and Kim E. Richman of Reese Richman LLP.

UPDATE: The Aveeno Active Naturals Class Action Lawsuit survived a motion to dismiss by Johnson & Johnson, which argued that consumers should have assumed that the term “Aveeno Active Naturals” only referred to a few ingredients, and that to assume otherwise would be to “disregard ‘well-known facts of life.’”

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 4, 2016, a federal judge granted class certification for three states’ worth of Class Members in this Aveeno Active Naturals class action lawsuit.

UPDATE 3: On May 26, 2017, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $6.75 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it deceptively marketed its Aveeno Active Naturals line.

UPDATE 4: The Aveeno Active Naturals Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 5: On Dec. 4, 2018, Top Class Action readers started to receive settlement checks worth as much as $168 from an Aveeno Naturals class action settlement.