Clearly Natural Essentials Hand Soaps Falsely Advertised as ‘Natural,’ Class Action Says

by Kelly Mehorter

Filed: January 3, 2023 ◆§ 4:23-cv-00018

A California resident has filed a class action accusing Beaumont Products, Inc. of falsely advertising their hygiene products as natural given they contain synthetic substances.

Beaumont Products, Inc.

California Unfair Competition Law California Consumers Legal Remedies Act

California

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A proposed class action alleges certain Clearly Natural Essentials hand soaps are misleadingly labeled in that the products are not free of synthetic, non-natural ingredients as advertised.

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The 27-page case claims that although manufacturer Beaumont Products labels its Clearly Natural Essentials soaps as "Pure and Natural," several of the products, including the Unscented Glycerin Hand Soap, Tea Tree Glycerin Hand Soap, Vitamin E Glycerin Hand Soap and Aloe Vera Glycerin Hand Soap, are made with the synthetic ingredients phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin.

The complaint contends that reasonable consumers understand the word "natural" to mean that the products are free of synthetic ingredients. The U.S. Department of Agriculture specifies that a synthetic ingredient is "formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources," the suit relays.

Since the average customer lacks "the meaningful ability to test or independently ascertain" whether an item's ingredients are natural or synthetic, they must instead rely on product packaging and marketing representations, the case claims. To that extent, the Federal Trade Commission has warned companies that if they use the term "natural" to market a product, they must be able to back this claim up with evidence, the suit says.

The complaint says the Clearly Natural Essentials hand soaps at issue are made with the synthetic ingredients ethylhexylglycerin and phenoxyethanol, the latter of which the FDA warns "can depress the central nervous system" and "may cause vomiting and diarrhea."

According to the case, Beaumont Products has intentionally misrepresented its hand soaps to take advantage of consumers’ willingness to pay more for products containing natural ingredients. The suit adds that reasonable consumers "value natural products for important reasons, including the belief that they are safer and healthier than alternative products that are not represented as natural."

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone who purchased Clearly Natural Essentials Unscented Glycerin Hand Soap, Tea Tree Glycerin Hand Soap, Vitamin E Glycerin Hand Soap or Aloe Vera Glycerin Hand Soap during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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