Last year, a woman in California brought a lawsuit against Florida Crystals Corporation for alleged greenwashing. Florida Crystals Corporation labelled their products as sustainably grown with practices that “help fight climate change.” However, the Plaintiff contends that Florida Crystals’ practice of burning during the sugar cane harvesting process actually harms the environment when compared to other harvesting practices. The case has now been dismissed. The Plaintiff ran into trouble by initially arguing that they purchased specific products harvested with unsustainable methods. When they had no evidence to support this, they subsequently changed their story and argued they were misled because of the company’s overall environmental impacts. The judge overseeing the case found these statements at odds and dismissed the case with leave to amend, stating:
“Plaintiff claims that her deception was limited to the sourcing of the Product she purchased… Plaintiff alleges Defendant deceived her and other consumers through front-label general environmental benefit claims that misrepresented Defendant’s company-wide environmental impacts—and the broad benefits of supporting a company that is helping ‘Save the Planet,’ ‘fight climate change,’ and ‘build healthy soils’ that are untethered to the specific products purchased… Such alleged deception regarding ‘company- wide’ practices is not sufficiently described in the FAC, and “it is axiomatic that the complaint may not be amended by the briefs in opposition to a motion to dismiss.”
Typically, to prove that a product violated consumer protection laws, Plaintiffs must point to specific purchases they made relying on specific statements. The Plaintiff’s failure to do that in this case sent them back to the drawing board. However, there’s a lesson for companies here as well. Be careful when it comes to product labeling. If you produce a product from multiple streams using slightly different methods, ensure that sustainability practices are consistent across your supply chain.
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