Aveeno ‘Natural’ Baby Wash Class Action Lawsuit

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Two moms have filed a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson alleging it tricked consumers into believing its Aveeno baby wash products are all-natural when they actually contain numerous unnatural and synthetic chemicals.

Plaintiffs Rebecca Virgil and Heidi Langan allege in the class action lawsuit that the products Aveeno Baby Wash and Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath falsely display the phrase “Natural Oat Formula” on the bottles, leading reasonable consumers to believe that the entire formula is comprised of natural ingredients.

Not only are the Aveeno baby wash products not “natural,” they also contain ingredients that can be carcinogenic to humans, the class action lawsuit alleges.

“Incredibly, Aveeno Calming Comfort Bath’s purportedly Natural Formula contains Quaternium 15, a preservative that works by slowly releasing formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen used for embalming and as a disinfectant,” the Aveeno baby wash class action lawsuit states. “Defendant’s false and misleading representations are particularly egregious because the Products are marketed for use on babies.”

Other chemicals in the Aveeno baby wash products include glycol distearate, which acts as a skin conditioning agent, and PEG 15 distearate, which is derived from stearic acid and is used as a surfactant, the class action lawsuit says.

Consumers were willing to pay more for the Aveeno baby wash products over comparable products that did not claim to be all-natural, which means they were economically injured by the alleged false advertising claims, the mothers say.

“Instead of receiving a natural formula product, the plaintiffs and the class received products in direct contradiction the defendant’s representations, which contained unnatural, synthetic ingredients,” the class action lawsuit states.

The Aveeno baby wash lawsuit is brought on behalf of everyone who purchased Aveeno Baby Wash and Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath in the United States. It is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, restitution, injunctive relief and more for unjust enrichment and consumer fraud.

The Aveeno Natural Baby Wash Class Action Lawsuit case is Virgil et al. v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc., Case No. 13-cv-00524, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The plaintiffs are represented by Joseph J. DePalma and Katrina Carroll of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC, Robert Izard and Jeffrey Nobel of Izard Nobel LLP and Michael A. Laux and Nicole A. Veno of the Law Office of Michael A. Laux.