Another Class Action Claims ‘Plant-Based’ Tide Purclean Detergent Derived from Petroleum

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A proposed class action alleges Tide purclean laundry detergent is not 100-percent plant-based—or derived solely from plant-based ingredients—as consumers are led to believe. 

The 18-page complaint, echoing a lawsuit filed in August 2020 against defendant Procter & Gamble Company, says Tide purclean is derived in part from petroleum. 

Per the case, consumers “have been and continue to be harmed” by purchasing Tide purclean “under false pretenses” and paying more for the detergent than they otherwise would have had they known the product’s label representations were misleading. 

Consumers have become more eco-conscious with regard to buying laundry products, the complaint begins. The suit, citing the Perfumer & Flavorist trade journal, says consumers have come to more closely pay attention to the chemicals used in laundry products and processes, and buyers increasingly prefer brands that purport to be both effective and environmentally responsible. 

As the lawsuit tells it, Procter & Gamble introduced Tide purclean to consumers in an effort to capitalize on the eco-friendly laundry products trend, prominently labeling the detergent as “plant-based” over a green leaf underlaying the Tide brand name. According to the complaint, Tide furthers the implication that purclean is derived entirely from eco-friendly plant-based materials by labeling the product as containing “0% dyes, phosphates, chlorine brighteners,” among other packaging representations.

Contrary to these representations, Tide purclean is made, “in significant part,” with cleaning aides derived from petroleum, the lawsuit claims. Per the suit, consumers were left “having paid a premium for a product that failed to provide the promised benefits.” 

“The environmental impact of the Petroleum industry has been well documented. Burning oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to the warming of our planet,” the lawsuit reads. “Therefore, the Product is not derived entirely from eco-friendly plant-based materials. To the contrary, it is derived, in significant part, from materials that are non-renewable and harmful to the planet.” 

The suit goes on to relay that the label found on containers of Tide purclean display a “miniscule [sic] disclaimer” that notes the detergent is only 75-percent plant-based, charging that the disclosure is “flatly inconsistent with the visual images of the Product.” According to the lawsuit, the defendant agreed in August 2020 to “stop making these unqualified representations and conspicuously [disclose] the limitations of the claims.” 

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