Target “Oil-Free” Facial Products Contain Oils Class Action

Up & Up Oil-Free cosmetic products are made and sold by Target Corporation. But are the products free of all oils and oil-inclusive substances? The complaint for this class action says no, alleging that Target is charging a premium price for the products yet still including oil or oil-inclusive ingredients.

The class for this action is all persons who bought any product that was falsely advertised as purportedly “oil-free” during the applicable statute of limitations. An Illinois subclass has also been proposed, as well as a multi-state subclass for those in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

The Up & Up products at issue include the following:

• Facial Moisturizer Sensitive Skin
• Facial Moisturizer with Sunscreen
• Dual Effects Moisturizer
• Acne Wash
• Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit
• Invigorating Facial Cleanser
• Charcoal Deep Pore Cleanser
• Deep Clean Cream Cleanser
• Skin Refreshing Apricot Scrub
• Blemish Controlling Apricot Scrub
• Deep Clean Exfoliating Scrub
• Eye Makeup Remover
• Cleansing Wipes Pink Grapefruit
• 3-in-1 Micellar Cleansing Water.

The complaint alleges, “Oil-Free cosmetics are desired by consumer because ‘oil-free’ products purportedly nourish and renew skin without clogging pores, causing breakouts, or making skin visibly oily.” But the Target Up & Up products are not, it claims, so that Target has engaged in “widespread and deceptive advertising.”

According to the complaint, “Oil is a term that describes materials that are both hydrophobic and liophilic.” It names certain chemical functional groups as oils, including hydrocarbons, triglycerides, esters, fatty acids, silicones, and fatty alcohols. These groups of substances, the complaint says, “can be characterized by the same physical properties, including being less dense than water, [being] more viscous than water, and feeling slick or slippery to the touch.”

The products at issue contain these oils, the complaint alleges:

• Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterols
• Dimethicone
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• Ppg-15 Stearyl Ether
• Dimethicone Peg-8 Meadowfoamate
• Cyclopentasiloxane
• Cyclohexasiloxane

The complaint explains the nature of each of these substances. For example, it says that Soybean Sterols “can only be created by creating a chemical reaction from soybean oil and distilling the sterols left behind.” Similarly, it say that “Cocamidapropyl Betaine is a fatty acid naturally derived surfactant sourced from coconut or palm kernel oil.”

According to the complaint, Target “employs professional chemists to create the chemical formulas for the Oil-Free Products. Therefore, [Target] through its employees knew or should have known that the Oil-Free Products contained oils and that by labeling the Products as ‘oil-free’ it was deceiving consumers.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Contains Substance It Claims Not to Contain, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels