Dive Brief:
- Sprouts Farmers Market is facing a class action lawsuit claiming the grocer and manufacturer EcoSoul Home, Inc. misrepresented select disposable tableware and cutlery sets as compostable.
- The products, sold under Sprouts’ private label brand, are marked as compostable despite containing “significant amounts” of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down or become part of usable compost, per the complaint.
- These allegations build on the growing claims that grocers are engaging in “green-washing” by exaggerating the environmental benefits of their initiatives.
Dive Insight:
The complaint filed on Jan. 10 in the District Court for the Eastern District of California claims Sprouts and EcoSoul falsely marked non-consumable private brand products as “compostable” on labels and other online and printed marketing materials. Misrepresented items include single-use plates, bowls, cold beverage cups, hot beverage cups with lids, straws and cutlery sets, according to court documents.
The plaintiff, a California resident, purchased several of these products from a Sprouts store in Visalia, California, in 2024. The products’ identification as “compostable” was a “determining factor in Plaintiff’s decision to purchase” and the “Plaintiff would not have purchased the Products and/or would not have paid the premium price for compostable products” had they known about the presence of PFAS chemicals, according to the complaint.
“Many consumers concerned with environmental problems associated with the proliferation of trash and waste actively seek to purchase products that are compostable so such products can be introduced into the soil, rather than deposited in landfills,” the lawsuit said. “These consumers are willing to pay more for such products, which often cost significantly more than non-compostable disposable bags, plates, and bowls.”
The complaint states that Sprouts and EcoSoul have violated several California laws. Sprouts did not respond by press time about the accusations.
A third-party laboratory that tested the products found “significant” amounts of PFAS within certain Sprouts private label bowls, plates, straws and cutlery the plaintiff purchased, per the complaint.
While PFAS are often added to tableware, cutlery and packaging products to make them water-resistant, the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides state it is “deceptive” to claim a product is compostable if the materials do not “break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost…in a safe and timely manner,” the complaint noted.
Sprouts has long been praised for being an industry front-runner in sustainability initiatives. In October, the grocer announced an expanded collaboration with reusable packaging container supplier IFCO to help the grocer lower its carbon dioxide emissions by 600 metric tons and reduce food waste by 105,000 pounds over the next 12 months.
