Stop & Shop-Brand, Always My Baby Wipes Not as ‘Flushable’ as Advertised, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges Stop & Shop’s store brand and Always My Baby cleansing wipes are not as “flushable” as advertised since the products do not break apart or disperse within a reasonable time after flushing. 

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The 25-page suit against the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company contends that reasonable consumers understand the term “flushable wipes” to mean that the products will disperse shortly after they’re flushed and not cause clogging or other problems for household sewage lines or septic systems. To be suitable for flushing, the case stresses, wipes must be able to quickly disintegrate into small pieces, such that they can pass through pipes and sewer systems without issue.

Stop & Shop’s premium-priced Flushable Cleansing Wipes and Always My Baby wipes are not, in fact, flushable, the lawsuit says, alleging the supermarket chain has engaged in “widespread false and deceptive advertising.” As the case tells it, the mislabeled “flushable” wipes are “completely worthless” since they cannot safely be flushed down the toilet after use.

“Plaintiff and Class Members would not have paid to purchase Defendant’s Wipes – or would not have paid as much as they did to purchase them – had they known that they are not, in fact, ‘flushable,’” the complaint reads. 

Although the back labels of the Stop & Shop wipes include a disclaimer that outlines when it is appropriate and not appropriate to flush the products, the suit contends that no reasonable consumer would even notice the disclosure given its placement on product packaging—“hidden behind a tab that must be folded up”—and small print.

Further, the case says, no reasonable consumer would expect that the fine print on the wipes’ back label would be inconsistent with the products’ prominent characterization as “flushable.”

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers in the United States who bought Stop & Shop’s store-brand or Always My Baby-brand wipes within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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