WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A group called Toxin Free USA sued Burt's Bees over the presence of chemicals known as PFAS in its products.
Its April 1 lawsuit in District of Columbia Superior Court preceded a consumer class action filed six days later in California federal court. Burt's Bees and Clorox removed the Toxin Free USA case to D.C. federal court on May 11.
Toxin Free USA says its lawsuit is brought "on behalf of the general public" and "in the interest of consumers."
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.
Litigation against Clorox, which bought Burt's Bees 15 years ago, says the products purport to be 100% natural but have been found to have amounts of PFAS in them.