Artnaturals Hand Sanitizer Contains Benzene California Class Action

This class action sues Virgin Scent, Inc., which does business as Artnaturals, for its claims that its products, including its hand sanitizer, are “natural” and chemical-free. The complaint alleges that the products are not natural or free of harmful chemicals, because they “contain dangerously high levels of a chemical impurity known as benzene.”

The class for this action is all California citizens who bought the products at retail in California, for personal use and not for resale, between November 16, 2018 and the date the Notice is disseminated in this case.

Page 2 of the complaint reproduces an advertisement from the company’s website, claiming that Artnaturals was “born out of a desire to free beauty from high prices, toxic chemical and all-around bad vibes.” The following page reproduces a square seal, also from its website, that shows a beaker with a strikethrough and the words, “Chemical Free.” Beneath that is the statement, “We use only nourishing, natural ingredients to boost your beauty with no preservatives, parabens, or phthalates to drag you down.” Elsewhere, it also claims that its products are “natural.”

The complaint asserts, “In response to the surge in demand for hand sanitizer products during the Covid-19, the [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] temporarily changed its policy for hand sanitizer products, which the FDA regulates as a type of over-the-counter drug.” Name-brand hand sanitizers were disappearing from stores.

The complaint claims, “Many manufacturers of hand sanitizer products began to cut corners in efforts to monetize [] the pandemic. Shortly after the pandemic began in the U.S., for instance, dozens of hand sanitizer products were recalled by the FDA after they were found to contain methanol contamination, which causes blindness, neurological damage, and even death.”

Benzene is generally held to be a carcinogen and has been linked to leukemia and other cancers.

The products were not meant to contain benzene, the complaint claims, and benzene is not listed as an ingredient. The presence of this chemical, it alleges, makes them “unsafe and worthless” as well as “adulterated and misbranded.” Because of this, the complaint claims, it is illegal to sell them.

The complaint asks that Artnaturals be required to do certain things:

• Stop “packaging, distributing, and advertising and selling the Products…”
• “[R]elabel or recall all existing deceptively packaged” products.
• Launch a corrective ad campaign to tell consumers about the deceptive advertising.
• Provide restitution and actual and punitive damages to those who bought the products.
• Pay all the costs of this lawsuit, including attorneys’ fees, expenses, and interest.

The counts include breaches of warranties, fraud and deceit, and unjust enrichment, among other things.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Contaminated with Harmful Substances, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels