Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Environmental Claims for Amazon Basics Paper Products

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A proposed class action lawsuit challenges several environmental claims for Amazon Basics paper products, alleging that the retail giant sources its wood pulp from “deeply unsustainable” supply chains.

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According to the 123-page Amazon greenwashing lawsuit, the pulp used to manufacture Amazon Basics 2-ply Bath Tissue, Amazon Basics Soft & Strong 2-ply Bath Tissue and Amazon Basics Paper Towels is sourced through industrial logging practices that are devastating Canada’s centuries-old boreal forest. Nevertheless, Amazon.com’s product detail pages for these paper items consistently include logos falsely touting sustainable supply chain practices, the complaint alleges.

Specifically, the defendant misleadingly displays the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo, which is intended to indicate that Amazon Basics products originate from responsibly managed forests, the case claims. The suit contends that Amazon also uses the Climate Pledge Friendly badge—recognized by a small leaf icon—to deceptively convey that the items have a lower carbon footprint than other products without this designation.

What consumers don’t know, the case alleges, is that Amazon’s suppliers are systematically clearcutting and burning Canada’s boreal forest, rapidly transforming this “ecological jewel” into environmentally devastating monoculture “tree farms” that lack the rich biodiversity they once supported.

The suit further notes that Canada’s boreal forest acts as a massive carbon storehouse that plays an important role in mitigating climate change. In contrast, the “tree farm” replanting efforts within the Amazon Basics paper products supply chain fail to recreate the carbon capture abilities of the original forest, the lawsuit explains. Not only that, but Amazon’s suppliers release over 26 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year through their clearcutting and burning practices, the complaint claims.

“As such, Amazon’s logos and badges are essentially useless to consumers in their search for sustainable products,” the filing asserts. “Yet Amazon still reaps the substantial financial and reputational rewards of positioning itself as a leading environmental steward offering sustainable products.”

The complaint contends that Amazon intentionally misrepresents the environmental impact of its paper products because it knows that an increasing number of consumers seek out and are willing to pay more for sustainable options.

The lawsuit cites violations of the Federal Trade Commission’s “Green Guides,” which were designed to protect consumers from unsubstantiated or misleading sustainability claims.

The lawsuit looks to represent all individuals who purchased an Amazon Basics paper product since January 25, 2020 in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

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