Burt’s Bees claims that its animal cleaning products are virtually all natural, is being challenged by a lawsuit filed earlier this month in New York.
Instead of containing all natural substances, the suit claims that Burt’s Bees dog and cat shampoos and conditioners have only a tiny amount of natural products and the rest are synthetics and water.
The suit singles out 2-in-1 Tearless Shampoo & Conditioner for Puppies and Burt’s Bees Oatmeal Shampoo for Dogs, which are products used by the New York customer – Moshe Goldfarb – on whose behalf the suit was filed. The suit seeks to represent everyone who purchased Burt’s Bees animal cleaning products.
“Both Products contain the following synthetic ingredients: Coco Betaine, Coco Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Glycerin, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, and Sodium Benzoate,” says the suit, which claims the ingredients may be harmful to pets.
“The products “contain minute amounts of natural substances: Honey, Beeswax, Colloidal Oatmeal, Linum usitatissimum (linseed) Oil, and Buttermilk Powder.”
“The reasonable consumer perceives ’99.7% Natural’ as indicating the absence of synthetic substances, harsh detergents and toxic chemicals,” the suit reads.
Customers pay twice as much for these products than those that don’t claim to be all natural, the suit says.
Burt’s Bees products are well known by health conscious consumers, many of whose introduction to the company was through its lip balm.
The suit also raises issues with products made for humans:
“Unfortunately, Burt’s Bees also manufactures and has manufactured a line of shampoos for humans, including babies, making the same or similar claims of nearly -100% Natural. These products too contain synthetic ingredients which, aside from water, constitute the vast bulk of product weight.”
