Recently, a number of personal care products, such as aerosol sunscreen products and antiperspirants, have been found to contain benzene, which the complaint calls “a known human carcinogen.” This class action sues Unilever United States, Inc., alleging that benzene has been found in its Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head), TRESemmé, Dove, Nexxus, and Living Proof dry shampoo products.
The class for this action is all persons in the US, including its territories and the District of Columbia, who bought any of the products at issue for personal use or consumption. California, Florida, and Illinois subclasses have also been defined for persons in the above class in those respective states.
Consumers are not told of the presence of benzene in the products, the complaint alleges, because benzene is not included in the products’ labeling or advertising. In fact, the complaint alleges that, on its website, the company “represented that its Products are safe and effective for their intended use, touting its ‘strict quality controls’ to ‘limit the presence of benzene’ in its products.”
With the hazardous levels of benzene that have been found in other companies’ personal care products, the complaint alleges, and with Unilever’s own recalling of its deodorant products over benzene levels, the company should have known that it was putting other products on the market that contained, or had a risk of containing, benzene.
The complaint says, “The health hazards of benzene have been recognized for over one hundred years.” It reviews opinions from various authorities, such as the National Toxicology Program, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization, which have found benzene to be a carcinogen.
Dry shampoos are considered to be cosmetics, which are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA lists benzene as a Class 1 solvent, and says that Class 1 solvents “should not be employed in the manufacture of drug substances, excipients, and drug products because of their unacceptable toxicity…” The complaint alleges that the FDA further says that there is no safe level of benzene, in terms of human exposure.
While Unilever has recalled the products, the complaint alleges that the recall is inadequate for several reasons:
- It extends only to products bought before October 2021.
- It extends only to certain lots of products.
- It does not provide compensation to consumers who do not have proof of purchase.
- It does not help consumers who have already been exposed to benzene through the products.
Topic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Unilever Benzene in Dry Shampoo Products Amended Complaint
November 14, 2022
Recently, a number of personal care products, such as aerosol sunscreen products and antiperspirants, have been found to contain benzene, which the complaint calls “a known human carcinogen.” This class action sues Unilever United States, Inc., alleging that benzene has been found in its Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head), TRESemmé, Dove, Nexxus, and Living Proof dry shampoo products.
Unilever Benzene in Dry Shampoo Products Amended ComplaintCase Event History
Unilever Benzene in Dry Shampoo Products Amended Complaint
November 14, 2022
Recently, a number of personal care products, such as aerosol sunscreen products and antiperspirants, have been found to contain benzene, which the complaint calls “a known human carcinogen.” This class action sues Unilever United States, Inc., alleging that benzene has been found in its Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head), TRESemmé, Dove, Nexxus, and Living Proof dry shampoo products.
Unilever Benzene in Dry Shampoo Products Amended Complaint