Rite Aid Class Action Says There’s No Aloe in After Sun Gel

A California woman is taking issue with the labeling on Rite Aid Renewal After Sun Gel, alleging the product does not actually contain any aloe.

Plaintiff Tina Kalajian says the labeling on defendant Rite Aid Corporation’s Renewal After Sun Gel is blatantly false. Despite an indicator on the front label that says the product is made with genuine aloe vera, Kalajian claims it “contains no actual Aloe Vera at all.”

Independent laboratory testing reveals that ingredient is not present in the product, Kalajian alleges.

According to this Rite Aid class action lawsuit, aloe vera gel is an extract from the leaves of the aloe vera plant. It’s known as a natural and effective skin moisturizer, and as a treatment for the symptoms of sunburn.

She includes pictures of the labeling at issue in her Rite Aid class action lawsuit. The front label bears the words “with aloe” highlighted inside a green field. Below that appears a stylized representation of a green plant leaf.

On the back side of the bottle, the ingredient list shows “Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder” among several other clearly non-aloe ingredients.

But Kalajian says that independent testing using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry shows the gel does not contain real aloe product – no aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder, and no other aloe product of any kind.

This testing revealed that Renewal After Sun Gel contains no acemannan, a compound present in all aloe vera products. According to the International Aloe Science Council, “[p]roducts that do not contain Acemannan are not considered to be true aloe vera.”

“As such, Defendants’ descriptions of the Product as being made with ‘Aloe’ or ‘Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder’ are false, deceptive, and misleading,” the Rite Aid class action states.

Kalajian believes Rite Aid has purposely mislabeled Renewal After Sun Gel to exploit consumer interest in real aloe vera gel. By one estimate, the global market for aloe vera products is worth $13 billion.

The lawsuit says Rite Aid tricks consumers by labeling its Renewal After Sun Gel as containing “aloe,” even though it doesn’t actually contain that ingredient. Without the promised aloe vera content, the value of the product drops to zero, the plaintiff claims.

Kalajian says she purchased a bottle of this gel herself in 2017, relying on the label’s assurance that she was getting a product made with aloe vera. She specifically sought out that ingredient for its skin-healing and sunburn-relief attributes, she claims. Had she known the product did not contain real aloe vera, Kalajian says she never would have bought it.

Kalajian seeks to represent a statewide Class of all persons who purchased Rite Aid Renewal After Sun Gel in California within four years prior to her filing of this Rite Aid class action lawsuit.

She is asking for an award of actual damages and a court order requiring Rite Aid to stop representing that the product at issue contains aloe vera, aloe gel, or aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder. She also seeks reimbursement of court costs and attorney fees, plus interest on all amounts owing.

Kalajian is represented by attorney Gerald B. Malanga of Lattie Malanga Libertino LLP.

The Rite Aid Renewal After Sun Gel Mislabeling Class Action Lawsuit is Tina Kalajian v. Rite Aid Corp., Case No. 2:17-cv-06777, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.