Earth’s Best Class Action Says Baby Wipes Don’t Comply With ‘Green’ Standards

A class action lawsuit alleging that Earth’s Best Baby Wipes are not actually as “earth friendly” as they are advertised to be has been removed to federal court.

The Earth’s Best Baby Wipes class action lawsuit, brought by several plaintiffs, claims that the product contains synthetic materials including polyester, lyocell, and rayon fibers.

These synthetic materials are allegedly not “earth friendly” and will not “fully biodegrade after customary disposal in a landfill or incinerator.”

In recent years, consumers have become more aware of their impact on their environment and have become more likely to purchase products which are earth friendly and “green.”

A product can be determined to be “green” based on its impact on the environment caused by manufacturing, use, and disposal.

Many manufacturers have capitalized on this recent trend towards “green” products by developing more environmentally friendly options for consumers to purchase.

However, some companies allegedly implement deceptive marketing schemes to make their products seem environmentally friendly when the opposite is true.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly explained that rayon products are typically disposed of in landfills, incinerators, or recycling facilities, and “it is impossible for these products to biodegrade within a reasonably short time.”

The plaintiffs claim that The Hain Celestial Group Inc. charges a premium price for Earth’s Best Baby Wipes due to them being marketed as “earth friendly.”

The company’s representations that its Earth’s Best Baby Wipes are “earth friendly” misleads reasonable consumers such as the plaintiffs and cause them to pay significantly more for the products than they would have had they known the truth, the baby wipes class action claims.

The plaintiffs say they each purchased the Earth’s Best Baby Wipes multiple times due to the products’ representations before learning the true nature of the products.

“Plaintiffs continue to have no way of determining whether the representation ‘earth friendly’ is in fact true,” the Earth’s Best Baby Wipes class action claims. “Thus, Plaintiffs are likely to be repeatedly presented with false or misleading information when shopping and they will be unable to make informed decisions about whether to purchase Defendants’ wipes and will be unable to evaluate the different prices between Defendants’ wipes and competitors’ wipes.”

The baby wipes class action lawsuit claims that Hain Celestial’s actions violate California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the Environmental Marketing Claims Act.

Plaintiffs also bring claims of fraud, deceit, and/or misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and violation of the state’s False Advertising, Business and Professions Code.

Plaintiffs in the Earth’s Best Baby Wipes class action seek to represent a Class of consumer who purchased Earth’s Best Baby Wipes in California between Sep. 1, 2014 and the present.

The baby wipes class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, actual damages, punitive damages, statutory damages, restitution, injunctive relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The proposed Class is represented by Adam J. Gutride, Seth A. Safier, Kristen G. Simplicio, and Marie McCrary of Gutride Safier LLP.

The Earth’s Best Baby Wipes Class Action Lawsuit is Lindquist, et al. v. The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-06465-EDL, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.