Peter Thomas Roth Moisturizer Sold in Boxes ‘More Than Half Empty,’ Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action claims skin care company Peter Thomas Roth Labs has misled consumers by selling its Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Rich Barrier moisturizer in oversized boxes that are “more than half empty.”

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The 14-page lawsuit says that by selling the Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Rich Barrier moisturizer in an oversized container with a false bottom insert, Peter Thomas Roth misrepresents that the box contains an amount of product commensurate with the size of the package, thereby “[duping] unsuspecting consumers” into paying a premium price for “empty space.”

According to the suit, the packaging leads a reasonable consumer to expect that they are buying a container adequately filled with moisturizer. In reality, what they get is substantially less product than what is represented by the size of the box, the filing argues.

The opaque packaging prevents shoppers from seeing the contents before purchase, the case contends, adding that nothing on the outside of the box shows the quantity of product relative to the size of its packaging, such as a fill line or indicator of the shape of the insert holding the moisturizer. The complaint argues that not even shaking the box would alert a consumer to the amount of slack-fill, or nonfunctional empty space, found inside each container.

The company underfills the moisturizer’s packaging for “no lawful reason,” the filing alleges, charging that the slack-fill is not a result of the product settling during shipment, nor does it protect the contents of the box or perform any necessary function.

“[Peter Thomas Roth Labs] underfills the product to save money and to deceive consumers into purchasing the product over its competitors' products,” the lawsuit claims. “[The defendant's] slack-fill scheme not only harms consumers, but it also harms its competitors who have implemented labeling changes designed to alert consumers to the true amount of product in each container.”

The plaintiff, a California resident, bought the moisturizer in the past year believing that the amount of product in the container would be commensurate with the size of the box, the suit relays. The woman says she would not have paid as much for the moisturizer, or purchased it at all, had she known that the package, in truth, contained a significant amount of empty space.

The lawsuit looks to represent California residents who purchased Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Rich Barrier moisturizer within the state in the past four years.

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