Huggies Class Action: ‘Natural’ Baby Wipes Contain Synthetic Ingredients

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Huggies was hit with a class action alleging their baby wipes are misleadingly marketed as “natural.”

Lead plaintiff Nasreen Haris claims Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, the maker of Huggies Natural Care baby wipes, tricks consumers into paying more for their product by advertising it as “natural” when, in reality, the wipes contain synthetic ingredients.

“Defendant falsely advertises the Products as being ‘natural’,” alleges the Huggies class action. “Despite the representations, the Products are actually non-natural, contain synthetic and chemical ingredients, and constitute false and misleading advertising. The Products contain phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol, cocamidopropyl betaine, and sodium citrate, which are synthetic ingredients.”

According to the Huggies class action lawsuit, Huggies Natural Care wipes are sold in packs of 32 and 56 wipes, as well as in tubs containing 40 to 64 wipes. Kimberly-Clark also sells refill packages containing 552 and 624 wipes.

“Synthetic” is defined as “a substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological processes,” under federal regulations, alleges the Huggies lawsuit.

The plaintiff also claims that the synthetic ingredients in Huggies Natural Care wipes can cause medical problems.

Phenoxyethanol can “depress the central nervous system and ma[y] cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants, according to the Food and Drug Administration,” contends the Huggies class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff and other consumers are concerned about the effects of synthetic and chemical ingredients in products they use, alleges the complaint, noting that sales of natural products totaled $180 billion in 2015.

“Companies such as the Defendant have capitalized on consumers’ desire for purportedly ‘natural’ products,” alleges the Huggies class action lawsuit. “Indeed, consumers are willing to pay, and have paid, a premium for products branded ‘natural’ over products that contain synthetic ingredients.”

The complaint notes that the Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on companies who claim that their products are natural, but actually include synthetic ingredients.

“Likewise, the Food and Drug Administration…warns that any ‘natural[‘] labeling on cosmetic products must be ‘truthful and not misleading,’” the Huggies lawsuit states.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased Huggies Natural Care wipes during the Class period. The plaintiff also seeks to represent a California subclass.

According to the Huggies class action, Kimberly-Clark violated California state laws as well as breached warranties and contracts with consumers through its false marketing.

The plaintiff is seeking damages and a court order stopping Kimberly-Clark from marketing the product as natural and for the company to disgorge its ill-gotten gains from the alleged mislabeling scheme.

Haris is represented by Reuben D. Nathan of Nathan & Associates APC.

The Huggies Natural Care Wipes Class Action Lawsuit is Haris v. Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc., et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-07016, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.