TRESemme Class Action Lawsuit Says Shampoo Isn’t ‘Natural’

TRESemme Class Action Lawsuit Says Shampoo Isn’t ‘Natural’

By Anne Bucher

A recently filed class action lawsuit accuses Unilever USA Inc. of falsely advertising its TRESemme brand hair products as “natural,” even though the products contain synthetic ingredients.

Plaintiff Lainie Cohen filed the class action lawsuit on August 28 in New Jersey District Court, alleging that the labels on the “TRESemme Naturals” shampoos and conditioners advertise that the products are natural. The labels also contain a prominently placed image of a green leaf. Cohen claims that she paid more for the TRESemme “natural” products than she would have for other products of the same brand that did not include a “natural” label.

According to the TRESemme class action lawsuit, Cohen purchased TRESemme Naturals Radiant Volume Shampoo and Naturals Vibrantly Smooth Condition, believing that they contained natural ingredients. She also lists Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo, Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner, Naturals Radiant Volume Conditioner and Naturals Vibrantly Smooth Shampoo in her complaint.

She points to print and television advertisements that claim the products are natural. The TRESemme Naturals website claims that the product line consists of “Natural hair products to seriously nurture: discover 10x stronger hair after just one use.”

Cohen argues in the TRESemme class action lawsuit that Unilever’s “representation is false and misleading to a reasonable consumer because contrary to a customer’s reasonable expectations, the products contain numerous synthetic ingredients, including ingredients that release formaldehyde or have a high risk of contamination by dioxane.”

“Consumers have become increasingly concerned about the effects of synthetic and chemical ingredients in food, cleaning, bath and beauty, and everyday household products,” the class action lawsuit continues. “Companies such as Unilever have capitalized on consumer appetite for ‘natural products.’ Indeed, consumers are willing to pay, and have paid, a premium for products branded ‘natural’ over ordinary products that contain synthetic ingredients.”

In 2010, U.S. sales of natural products totaled $117 billion, according to the class action lawsuit.

Despite the ‘natural’ label on some TRESemme products, they actually contain a long list of unnatural ingredients, the TRESemme lawsuit claims. According to the class action lawsuit, the products contain allegedly unnatural ingredients, including ammonium laureth sulfate, DMDM hydantoin and dipropylene glycol. Cohen accuses Unilever of engaging in false and misleading advertising, with the knowledge that consumers would willingly pay a premium for products they believe to be natural.

Because Unilever is headquartered in New Jersey, Cohen argues that the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) should be applied to all putative Class Members nationwide. Cohen claims that Unilever “has used and employed unconscionable commercial practices, deception, misrepresentations and/or the knowing concealment, suppression and/or omission of material facts concerning the ingredients in the products,” in violation of the CFA. If it is determined that the class action lawsuit should not be covered by New Jersey law, Cohen argues that the claims should be covered by the consumer protection laws of the states in which the Class Members reside, as long as they are not in conflict with New Jersey law.

Cohen is represented by Joseph J. DePalma and Katrina Carroll of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC and Robert A. Izard, Jeffrey S. Nobel and Nicole A. Veno of Izard Nobel LLP.

The TRESemme False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Lainie Cohen v. Unilever United States Inc., Case No. 2:13-cv-05612, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE: On July 12, 2016, a federal judge preliminarily approved a $3.25 million settlement in a nationwide consumer class action over TRESemme brand shampoos and conditioners that were allegedly falsely advertising as being “natural” when the products actually contained synthetic ingredients. 

UPDATE 2: On Feb. 6, 2017, Top Class Actions viewers who submitted claims for the TRESemmé class action settlement starting receiving checks worth as much as $7.97!

All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions