Purex Laundry Deterrent ‘115 Loads’ Claim is Misleading, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action claims 150-fluid-ounce containers of Purex liquid laundry detergent hold “nowhere close” to enough product to do 115 loads of laundry as advertised.

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The 25-page lawsuit alleges that despite defendant Henkel Corporation’s prominent front-label representation that its Purex detergent is sufficient for “115 Loads,” the “vast majority” of consumers will only get, at most, 60 loads of laundry.

What’s more, most consumers have “no way at all” to accurately determine how much detergent they are receiving when they purchase the Purex product, the case says. The filing argues that the only way a buyer could “possibly discern” the amount of detergent the product actually provides is by navigating a “multi-step maze” of fine print on the back panel.

Even so, these back-label instructions are presented in a “confusing” manner that “consumers will not understand when purchasing the product under any circumstances, and certainly not as they rush through a convenience or grocery store,” the complaint contends.

According to the suit, a tiny asterisk symbol next to the “115 Loads” claim corresponds to a difficult-to-spot statement on the back of the container that reads “Medium Loads.” A separate section of the back label clarifies that consumers should “fill [the] cap to just below line 1” for medium loads and “use more” for large loads, the case relays.

The complaint explains that customers must then remove the measuring cup to see that it comes marked with a “1” and a “2” measuring bar, the second of which presumably corresponds with a large load.

“Because a laundry washing machine cannot be filled beyond full capacity, ‘large’ loads, as the product employs the term, must refer to loads of laundry that are significantly fuller than what the Product labels ‘medium’ loads of laundry,” the suit says. “In other words, what the product labels ‘medium’ loads are significantly less than a full load of laundry, and thus significantly less than what consumers expect.”

Per the suit, reasonable buyers understand the term “load” to refer to one that uses the full capacity of the laundry machine. However, unbeknownst to most consumers, Henkel Corporation’s “115 Loads” claim actually refers to 115 half-loads, the filing argues.

As such, the defendant’s representation that Purex liquid laundry detergent holds enough product for 115 loads is “misleading and deceptive” and in violation of several state consumer protection laws, the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in Missouri, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, New York, Washington D.C., Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Connecticut who bought Purex liquid laundry detergent within the past five years.

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