OAKLAND, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Clorox has joined the many companies facing lawsuits over chemicals known as PFAS, as a class action lawsuit alleges Burt's Bees Lip Products are contaminated with them.
The April 7 class action filed in Oakland, Calif., says Burt's Bees has contradicted its stated goal of helping safeguard access to clean water. PFAS is found in firefighting foam and some consumer products and are found in the bloodstreams of virtually every American.
PFAS lawsuits blame the chemicals for a variety of health problems, some of which were linked by a health study that was part of a settlement with DuPont. But others say the science on how PFAS affect the human body is incomplete.
Meanwhile, as the government still requires PFAS in its firefighting foam on military bases, lawyers pursue litigation like an Ohio class action that alleges no illnesses.
The Burt's Bees lawsuit also says the company has claimed its product is 100% natural. Clorox bought the brand 15 years ago.
"Reasonable consumers, therefore, fairly and reasonably understand that Burt's Bees products, including specifically its lip products, which are marketed as clean, conscious, 100% natural, free of chemicals of concern, and environmentally sustainable would not contain human-made chemicals like PFAS," the suit says.
Lawyers at Milberg Coleman are pursuing the case. PFAS lawsuits are centralized in South Carolina federal court in a multidistrict litigation proceeding, but a consumer class action might not be sent there because it does not allege personal injury.