Consumer groups are calling in companies for microplastics in bottled water not declared originally
Between January and March 2024 launched 5 collective legal actions against microplastics in bottled water
Don’t call it natural water anymore. This is the demand for 5 collective actions against the bottled water industry launched in the first months of this year. The reason is that the labels do not indicate the presence of microplastics in the water, while numerous studies show that there is.
According to the industry portal Plastics Today, following the 2018 and 2019 studies and a new Consumer Reports study of February 2024, manufacturers should now worry about disputes that could come between the head and the neck.
Every producer of packaged consumer goods, the magazine explains, should consider a potential process. Although the scientific community is still investigating the damage caused by microplastics, the plaintiffs are ready to take the matter to court.
In the United States, this is already a reality. Class action has blossomed across the country against industry. The prosecution claims that companies that produce and sell bottled water have violated consumer protection rules by labeling their water as “natural”. Actually, it’s supposed to contain microplastics, not natural at all.
The defence of industry
The defendants look for similarities with other trend litigations, such as those on PFAS and glyphosate, to try to challenge these claims. In similar disputes, the defendants have been successful in arguing that the Federal Drug and Cosmetic Act prevents the communication of migratory substances such as PFAS between ingredients. Similarly, some courts have recently ruled that the “natural” claim cannot induce a reasonable customer to believe that there are no “accidental or harmless quantities” of glyphosate in a product. They therefore hope that these arguments will encourage the rejection of claims in the battle on microplastics in bottled water.
The culture of mass causes, typical of the US context, could therefore be enriched by a new vein. And who knows what to expect.
