Target Class Action Alleges Up & Up Aloe Gel Contains No Aloe

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Target has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its Up & Up Aloe Vera Gel product contains no actual aloe.

Plaintiff Susan Nazari of Sacramento, Calif., claims she relied on the Up & Up Aloe Vera Gel product labeling when she made the decision to purchase the product.

According to the aloe vera class action lawsuit, she would not have purchased the product if she had known it did not actually contain aloe.

Aloe vera gel comes from the aloe plant and is used to moisturize and soothe skin.

Nazari says she relied on the label, which prominently states “Aloe Vera Gel” and “pure aloe vera.” Further, the back label lists “Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice” as the second ingredient, according to the aloe vera class action lawsuit.

“After the consumer watchdog group ConsumerLab.com reported that several commercially available aloe products contain no aloe vera, Plaintiff’s counsel tested the Product and found it contained no aloe vera,” the Target class action lawsuit states.

According to the Target aloe class action lawsuit, laboratory testing revealed that the Up & Up Aloe Vera Gel contained no Acemannan, the key compound in aloe vera. Therefore, it cannot be considered true aloe vera, Nazari claims.

The Target class action lawsuit points to guidance from the International Aloe Science Council, which is an international non-profit organization that was formed in the 1980s to protect consumers from products falsely labeled as aloe.

The IASC reportedly asserts that products that don’t contain Acemannan, the active ingredient in aloe vera’s inner leaf gel, aren’t considered true aloe vera products.

“The lack of aloe vera and Acemannan in the Product reduces the value of the Product to nil,” the Target aloe class action lawsuit alleges. “No consumer would have purchased the Product had they known it contained no aloe vera.”

Nazari alleges that Target knowingly developed and employed a marketing strategy that was designed to deceive consumers and convince them to purchase the mislabeled aloe vera product.

The class action lawsuit claims that Up & Up Aloe Vera Gel is misbranded according to the federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act.

Nazari filed the Target class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a Class of consumers who purchased the allegedly misbranded Up & Up Aloe Vera Gel product in the last four years. She also seeks to certify a subclass of California residents who purchased the product.

The aloe vera class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s False Advertising Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, Unfair Business Acts and Practices, Fraudulent Business Acts and Practices, breach of express warranty, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

Nazari is represented by Michael F. Ram and Susan S. Brown of Ram Olson Cereghino & Kopczynski LLP.

The Target Up & Up Aloe Gel Class Action Lawsuit is Susan Nazari v. Target Corporation d/b/a Target, Case No. 2:16-cv-02015, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.