Native deodorant class action alleges product falsely advertises 72-hour odor protection

Native deodorant class action overview:

• Who: Two men have filed a lawsuit against Procter & Gamble. 
• Why: The plaintiffs say the company falsely advertises Native deodorant as giving “72-hour odor protection,” which they say isn’t clinically proven.
• Where: The Native deodorant class action lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court. 

Two men have filed a lawsuit against Procter & Gamble alleging the company falsely advertises its Native deodorant as giving “72-hour odor protection,” when that claim isn’t clinically proven, they say.

Plaintiffs Ashton Hernandez and Andrew Smyrak filed the class action complaint against Procter & Gamble on June 26 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumers laws. 

The men say Native charges much more than its competitors due to that allegedly false claim. 

Success of Native built on a lie, lawsuit claims

According to the lawsuit, Procter & Gamble’s marketing claims that Native whole-body deodorant spray lasts for three days are completely untested. The plaintiffs allege the company markets these assertions despite allegedly never having conducted clinical studies to test the claim. 

“Instead, Native has simply copied the ’72-hour protection’ claim by a number of different deodorants in the market, added the false ‘clinically proven’ claim, and then charged over 100% more than its competitors based on that false claim,” the lawsuit says.

The deodorant sprays are sold at Target, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens and online on Amazon.com.

Since Procter & Gamble started the line with its allegedly false advertising, Native has expanded and is now one of the leading ‘natural’ deodorants in the market, the plaintiffs say. However, the success of the company is built on a lie about the products’ clinical testing and results, they add. 

72-hour claims ‘preposterous’ 

The deodorant’s instructions state that consumers can apply it in the morning and repeat “as needed throughout the day,” which the lawsuit argues directly opposes its marketing claim that it provides 72-hour odor protection. 

“In other words, Native makes the preposterous claim that it makes no difference how much of the spray a consumer uses and it should still provide 72-hour odor protection,” the complaint says. “However, the consumer may ‘repeat as needed throughout the day,’ which would no doubt be necessary considering that its ingredients have no long lasting effect on odor.” 

The plaintiffs said they each bought Native deodorant spray for $14 after seeing and believing the 72- hour protection claim on the label. They say neither of them would have bought the spray at all, or at least wouldn’t have paid a premium price for it, had they known the claims were allegedly false. 

The plaintiffs are seeking to represent anyone who purchased the Native deodorant in Connecticut or New York. They’re suing for violations of New York and Connecticut consumer laws. They’re seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

In March, Unilever United States agreed to pay $2 million to end claims the company sold Suave-branded antiperspirant deodorant products containing high levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical. 

What do you think of the claims against Procter & Gamble? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by James R. Denlea and Jeffrey I. Carton of Denlea & Carton LLP and Philip M. Smith of Kravit Smith LLP. 

The Native deodorant class action lawsuit is Ashton Hernandez et al. v. Zenlen Inc. dba Native Cos., Case No. 1:24-cv-04846, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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