Honest Company Class Action Says Dish Soap Bottles Are Underfilled

The Honest Company Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging some of its dish soap products contain nearly 10 percent less dish soap than is stated on the label.

Plaintiff Chelsea Grey points to a March 23 article from the Wall Street Journal, which reports that Honest-brand dish soap containers stated they contained 26.5 fluid ounces but they actually contained 24 fluid ounces of dish soap.

According to the Honest Company class action lawsuit, these underfilled containers had been on the market for several years.

A spokesperson for the Honest Company reportedly explained that the company was in the process of releasing a new dish soap that would be packaged in bottles containing 24 fluid ounces of the product “to eliminate a small inconsistency between physical fill volume and labeled fill volume.”

Grey asserts that she and other putative Class Members were injured by the inaccurate product labeling because they received nearly 10 percent less dish soap than they were promised on the label of each bottle they purchased.

According to the Honest Company class action lawsuit, Grey bought a bottle of Honest-brand dish soap in January. She says the dish soap label indicated the package contained 26.5 fluid ounces of dish soap.

Grey says she decided to purchase the Honest Company dish soap after reading the label and the corresponding “unit price” that was posted on the store shelf.

“These representations were substantial factors influencing her decision to purchase Honest-brand Dish Soap,” the Honest Company class action lawsuit states.

Grey maintains that she would not have purchased the Honest-brand dish soap if she had known it was underfilled.

By filing the Honest Company class action lawsuit, Grey seeks to represent herself and a Class of consumers who have purchased Honest-brand dish soap. She also seeks to represent a subclass of consumers who purchased the Honest dish soap in Florida.

The Honest Company dish soap class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of express warranty, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Grey is seeking compensatory, statutory and punitive damages; prejudgment interest; restitution; attorneys’ fees and costs; and an order compelling the Honest Company to engage in a corrective advertising campaign.

Honest is no stranger to litigation. In fact, the company is currently facing multidistrict litigation over allegations it misrepresented the ingredients in several of its baby, cosmetic and household products. The MDL, which is titled In re: The Honest Company Inc. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, consists of at least six class action lawsuits that have been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Grey is represented by L. Timothy Fisher, Scott A. Bursor and Joel D. Smith of Bursor & Fisher PA, and Michael T. Fraser of The Fraser Law Firm PC.

The Honest Company Dish Soap Class Action Lawsuit is Chelsea Grey v. The Honest Company Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-02335, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On May 23, 2017, the Honest Co. Dish Soap class action lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed.