P&G faces class-action lawsuit over Pods

PROCTER & Gamble is facing a class-action lawsuit in federal court over allegations surrounding its Tide Pods laundry detergent.

The product, which the Cincinnati-based P&G began selling in the US in 2012, is claimed to stain white and light-colored laundry.

The suit, filed last month in the U.S. District Court in New York by attorneys at Stull, Stull & Brody, claims P&G could be liable for more than $5 million in damages related to Tide Pods. It states that an article published by Consumer Reports last February 20, 2014 raised the problem. A P&G spokesperson was quoted in the article pointing to overstuffing the machine with laundry or not putting a Tide Pods pack into the washing machine before clothing is inserted as possible causes. 

The suit further claims the company engaged in deceptive trade practices and breached implied warranties. Although filed on behalf of three consumers, the suit states that it can cover anyone in the US who bought Tide Pods and experienced laundry damage. It requests a jury trial.

According to the suit, “P&G reiterated over and over, in its responses to consumer complaints, that it would not put a product on the market that would ruin laundry, that Tide Pods have been successfully tested, and it is certain that if used as directed, Tide Pods do not stain laundry. However, it is clear from plaintiffs’ experiences, as well as those of the customer complaints set forth above, and the hundreds of additional complaints on the Tide website, that even when used as directed, Tide Pods permanently stain white and light-colored laundry.”

The suit claims that “Tide Pods have serious design defects … that cause them to produce permanent blue/purple stains on white and light-colored laundry, even when used as directed by P&G

P&G is already in hot water over accidental ingestion of the Tide Pods fabric care product. The company accounts for 80% of sales of laundry packets, which are currently in use in more than 26 million U.S. homes.