Poland Spring Lawsuit Says Water Bottles Contain Harmful Microplastics, Phthalates

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A new proposed class action lawsuit alleges Poland Spring bottled water is not “100% Natural Spring Water” as advertised since the bottles contain “alarming levels” of synthetic phthalates and “dangerous levels” of microplastics.

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The 22-page Poland Spring lawsuit says that there is no safe level of consumption for phthalates, a synthetic chemical used to increase the flexibility, durability and longevity of plastics, in foods and beverages. The case additionally claims that every bottle of Poland Spring water is rife with microplastics, tiny fragments of plastic that studies have found may be toxic to human health and have become a pervasive problem in the bottled water industry.

The filing charges that defendant BlueTriton Brands has profited immensely by falsely touting Poland Spring bottled water, the leading bottled water brand in the Northeast, as “100% Natural Spring Water,” as reasonable consumers mistakenly believe they are getting “a bottle of nothing but spring water from nature.” 

“As a result, consumers are willing to, and do, pay more than they pay for other comparable products that are not falsely labeled,” the proposed class action lawsuit reads. “Labeling Poland Spring as ‘100% Natural Spring Water’ is deceptive and confusing.”

Central to the suit is testing conducted by Consumer Reports that found that Poland Spring, among other popular grocery items, contained harmful levels of phthalates. The case relays that Consumer Reports found 4,217 total phthalates per plastic bottle serving of Poland Spring water, “higher than the amount found in Pepsi or Gatorade.”   

Citing a microplastics study, the lawsuit shares that the ingestion of the plastic particles has been linked to “chronic and severe health problems,” including certain cardiovascular conditions, endocrine disruption and gastrointestinal disorders. According to the filing, studies have found microplastic particles in more than 90 percent of the bottled water tested, with as many as 325 plastic particles per liter. 

Ultimately, the complaint contends that BlueTriton’s “100% Natural Spring Water” claim on Poland Spring bottles represents that the entire contents of the bottles “[exist] in or [are] caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind.” The presence of the synthetic substances in Poland Spring bottles renders the “100% Natural” claim false and misleading, the lawsuit alleges. 

“Defendant represents prominently on its consumer packaging that Poland Spring is ‘100% Natural Spring Water.’ It is not,” the case reiterates, alleging the labeling of Poland Spring is “false and misleading under an objective reasonable consumer standard.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers in the United States who bought Poland Spring bottled water for personal use and not for resale within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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