Camille Rose Class Action Says ‘Natural’ Hair Care Line Falsely Labeled

A class action lawsuit filed on Nov. 17 alleges that Camille Rose hair products are deceptively marketed as “natural.” The complaint asserts that Camille Rose rinses, conditioners, and hair treatments actually contain several synthetic ingredients.

The class action argues that Camille Rose violated state consumer protection laws with its “natural” product campaign, and consumers paid a premium price based on that false and misleading advertising.

Camille Rose is lying about its products in order to profit from the market for natural products, the class action argues.

According to the complaint, the market for natural products grew by six percent to $117 billion in 2010. More importantly, the complaint cites a survey which found that 86 percent of consumers “expect a ‘natural’ label to mean processed foods do not contain any artificial ingredients.”

The Camille Rose deceptive marketing class action lawsuit claims that Camille Rose “Naturals” products are not, in fact, natural, because they contain the following ingredients: glyceryl stearate (also called stearic acid), which is classified as synthetic by federal regulations; sorbic acid, a synthetic preservative; tocopherol acetate, a synthetic substance used in pesticide formulations; as well as several other chemical substances.

In addition, several Camille Rose products contain xanthan gum, a synthetic ingredient according to federal regulations and linked to illness and death in infants by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The complaint notes that the Federal Trade Commission has filed actions against several companies that claim they have “natural” products that contain these same ingredients.

Even though the product labels state that they contain these ingredients, the class action contends that the average consumer has no idea these substances are synthetic, because it requires scientific analysis to determine.

“Moreover, the reasonable consumer is not expected or required to scour the ingredients list on the back of the Products in order to confirm or debunk Defendant’s prominent front-of-the-Products claims, representations, and warranties that the Products are ‘Natural,’” argues the class action.

Plaintiff Marcella Jacobs states that she purchased several Camille Rose products from a Target store in 2016. Jones claims that she saw the “natural” label on the products, believed that they did not contain any synthetic ingredients, and bought them based on that belief.

Jones contends that she would not have paid as high a price for those products had she known the truth about their ingredients.

The Camille Rose false advertising lawsuit requests the court to certify a Class of all consumers who purchased Camille Rose products containing synthetic ingredients in the United States.

The class action seeks restitution and treble damages under state consumer protection laws, as well as an injunction stopping the company from deceptively marketing its products.

Jacobs is represented by Jason P. Sultzer, Joseph Lipari, and Adam Gonnelli of The Sultzer Law Group PC, Melissa W. Wolchansky of Halunen Law, and Michael R. Reese and George V. Granade of Reese LLP.

The Camille Rose “Natural” Deceptive Marketing Class Action Lawsuit is Marcella Jacobs v. Camille Rose LLC, Case No. 7:16-cv-08937, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.