Costco sued over toxic chemicals in baby wipes

MEXICO CITY (apro).- Wholesale giant Costco has been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company’s Kirkland brand baby wipes contain high levels of chemicals known as PFAs.

On June 20, plaintiffs Larisa Bullard and Mila Corrigan filed the complaint in a federal court in the Northern District of California, United States. The women argued that despite Kirkland’s claims that the wipes are made with ingredients of natural origin, they contain PFAS.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals that do not degrade and can accumulate over time, making them persistent in the environment and the human body and potentially causing harmful effects, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Bullard and Corrigan said in the lawsuit that an independent investigation by their attorney through a Department of Defense laboratory revealed the presence of dangerous levels of PFAS in Kirkland baby wipes.

“Direct exposure to PFAS by infants and babies through Defendant’s wipes poses a health risk, which Plaintiffs and Class Members sought to avoid by purchasing Defendant’s plant-based, natural, toxin-free products for their babies,” the complaint said.

Bullard and Corrigan alleged that Costco, along with product maker Nice-Pak Products Inc., are guilty of “negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment or omission, fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of express warranty and of violating New York’s General Commercial Law and California’s False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law.”

Last week, Costco lost another class-action lawsuit over Kirkland flushable wet wipes, alleging they caused damage to pipes, septic systems and other plumbing problems after they were flushed down toilets, as advertised on the product’s packages.