Cities Sue Flushable Wipes Manufacturers in Class Action

One village, two commissions, and six cities have filed a flushable wipes class action lawsuit against six manufacturers of disposable baby and sanitary wipes, alleging these companies falsely market their products as “flushable,” even though these wipes do not sufficiently degrade when passing though wastewater treatment systems, causing damaging clogs in municipal wastewater plants.

Plaintiffs in this flushable wipes class action lawsuit include the City of Wyoming, Minn.; Village of Holmen, Wis.; City of Elk River, Minn.; City of Mankato, Minn.; City of Perham, Minn.; City of Princeton, Minn.; City of Fergus Falls, Minn.; Sauk Centre Public Utilities Commission; and the Chisago Lakes Joint Sewage Treatment Commission. The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class that includes all entities within the U.S. that operate, manage, or own a wastewater treatment plant.

The defendants include Procter & Gamble Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Nice-Pak Products Inc., Professional Disposables International Inc., Tufco Technologies Inc., and Rockline Industries.

Baby wipes and adult wipes products named in the false marketing allegations include:

• Charmin Freshmates
• Kandoo® flushable wipes by Pampers
• Cottonelle FreshCare flushable wipes by Kimberly-Clark
• Scott Naturals flushable wipes
• Nice-Pak flushable wipes
• up & up® flushable wipes by Target
• Hygea flushable personal cleansing cloths
• Tufco flushable wipes
• Equate flushable wipes by Rockline

Flushable Wipes Class Action Allegations

The plaintiffs bringing the class action suit allege that the manufacturers falsely marketed baby wipes and adult wipes as “flushable,” when in reality flushed products led to impaired wastewater treatment plants.

According to the flushable wipes class action lawsuit:

“[The hygiene wipe products] are marketed and labeled as ‘flushable’ to convey their capability to be flushed down a toilet and pass through any wastewater treatment system without causing harm. This is false as the ‘flushable’ wipes pass through the wastewater treatment system without adequate degradation to disperse the wipe . . . When this occurs, the wastewater treatment system is harmed by clogs, shutdowns and equipment failures.”

The plaintiffs are seeking certification of the Class and various subclasses, declaratory and injunctive relief, compensation for the ongoing cleanup of the personal hygiene wipes from the municipalities’ sewer systems, damages, and payment of attorney’s fees.

The Flushable Wipes Class Action Lawsuit is City of Wyoming, Minnesota, et al., v. Procter & Gamble Company, et al., Case No. 15-cv-02101-JRT/TNL, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Join a Flushable Wipes Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased one of the following flushable wet wipes, you may qualify to join a free class action lawsuit investigation:

• Babyganics® flushable wipes
• Charmin Freshmates
• CVS flushable wipes
• Equate® flushable wipes by Wal-Mart
• Kandoo® flushable wipes by Pampers
• up & up® flushable wipes by Target
• Walgreens flushable wipes
• Other flushable wipe products

Join Now