No. 7 Beauty Makeup Remover Wipes Falsely Advertised as ‘Biodegradable,’ Class Action Lawsuit Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that No. 7 Beauty falsely advertises its “biodegradable” makeup remover and cleansing wipes, given that the cosmetic products do not break down within a reasonably short period of time in landfill conditions.

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The 25-page lawsuit says that consumers typically throw the No. 7 Beauty Biodegradable Makeup Removing Wipes and Biodegradable Cleansing Wipes at issue in the trash, where the products “ultimately end up in landfills or incinerators.” The filing states that landfills do not have the conditions necessary to allow the wipes to completely decompose within a reasonable period of time.

“[Anaerobic] conditions [at landfills] mummify the waste and prevent it from biodegrading within a reasonable amount of time, if at all,” the complaint says.

Per the case, No. 7 Beauty markets and sells its Biodegradable Makeup Removing Wipes and Biodegradable Cleansing Wipes with labels that prominently display an unqualified “biodegradable” claim with a small asterisk, indicating that consumers must turn around the package and read the fine print. The case says that although the back of the wipes’ packaging states that they are “[t]ested to be biodegradable including landfill,” another small asterisk accompanies this claim, directing consumers to the bottom of the package where it states the claim based on “EN13432 and ASTM D5511-18 testing.”

Neither form of testing measures whether a product will degrade in landfill conditions, the suit states.

According to the suit, EN13432 testing concerns the minimum requirements for industrial composting, not landfill waste, and the “flawed” ASTM testing does not accurately simulate whether a product will biodegrade in a reasonably short period of time in landfill conditions.

Consumers generally understand that biodegradable products will completely break down within a “reasonably short” period of time, typically within one year, the case relays.

The lawsuit cites the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides, which the class action lawsuit notes were created for “this exact deceptive practice.” The Green Guides stipulate that “[u]nqualified degradable claims for items that are customarily disposed in landfills, incinerators, and recycling facilities are deceptive because these locations do not present conditions in which complete decomposition will occur within one year.”

No. 7 Beauty’s misleading representations aim to capitalize on environmentally conscious consumers concerned that products may persist in the environment and who are willing to pay premium prices for biodegradable packaging, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit says that had the plaintiffs and class members been aware that the wipes were not biodegradable in customary disposal conditions, they either would have paid significantly less for the products or not purchased them at all.

The No. 7 Beauty class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States who purchased the No. 7 Beauty wipes labeled with a biodegradable representation on the front packaging.

Learn all about the legal process: What is a class action lawsuit?