Class Action: Chobani Falsely Advertises Yogurt Products as Promoting ‘Sweeping Benefits’ for Workers, Animals [UPDATE]

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Chobani, LLC faces a proposed class action that alleges the yogurt maker has misleadingly advertised certain products as beneficial to farm workers and animals alike.

The 30-page lawsuit says that although Chobani touts certain yogurts as Fair Trade USA Certified—and more specifically that the products adhere to the “highest standards” for workers, promote “sustainable livelihoods” and support “safe … animal care”—these representations are false and misleading.

Per the case, Chobani buyers are unaware that the Fair Trade USA standards for farm workers are not the highest available under other programs. The suit also contends that consumers are similarly unaware that these standards fail to improve “key factors” for sustainable livelihoods and include “no standards whatsoever” for animal care.

“In stark contrast to its marketing representations, Chobani’s products do not represent the highest standards for workers, nor do they promote sustainable livelihoods or safe animal care,” the complaint alleges. “Far from it. Instead, its representations are false, without basis, and are meant to deceive consumers.”

The lawsuit states that some of Chobani’s yogurt products—including its 32-ounce Greek yogurt tubs in the Whole Milk Plain, Low Fat Plain, Non-Fat Plain, Strawberry Blended and Vanilla Blended varieties—claim on their outside labels and beneath each lid that the items are Fair Trade USA Certified. Per the suit, this statement is accompanied by representations that this certification ensures “sweeping benefits” for dairy workers and animals.

The case argues, however, that Fair Trade USA standards do “nothing more than follow basic legal requirements,” which, in the dairy industry, are particularly weak, the suit says. The complaint notes that farm workers are exempt from key labor laws that guarantee benefits such as overtime pay and certain health and safety protections.

Moreover, the lawsuit claims that Chobani’s Fair Trade USA standards fall well short of the protections offered to dairy workers under other programs, such as the Milk with Dignity Campaign, and even the Fair Trade organization’s own standards for workers outside the U.S. Thus, it is misleading to suggest that Chobani’s products adhere to the “highest standards” for workers or “promote sustainable livelihoods,” the case argues. From the complaint:

The suit also challenges Chobani’s claim that its products support “safe … animal care” given Fair Trade USA’s Agricultural Production Standard is “entirely silent” regarding animal welfare.

The lawsuit alleges Chobani has attempted to take advantage of consumers’ increasing interest in purchasing ethically produced food by labeling its yogurts as Fair Trade USA Certified. Per the case, consumers would not have paid as much for the yogurt, or would not have bought it at all, had Chobani not made the “false, misleading, and deceptive representations” regarding the treatment of workers and animals.

The lawsuit alleges that Chobani has “profited enormously” from the sale of its falsely labeled products.

The case looks to cover anyone who purchased the Chobani products highlighted on this page in the U.S. during the statute of limitations period and until the date of class certification.

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