Seattle, WA: A class action has been certified against defendants Johnson & Johnson and Wal-Mart for selling children's shampoo and baby wash contaminated with methylene chloride, a banned ingredient in cosmetics that is linked to increased cancer risk.
The plaintiffs allege that, despite Defendants' representations that Johnson's(R) Baby Shampoo and Wal-Mart's Equate Tearless Baby Wash are "as gentle to the eyes as pure water" and "extra mild" for babies, these products are actually contaminated with methylene chloride. Methylene chloride is one of only 11 chemicals that the Food and Drug Administration has banned as an ingredient in cosmetics, out of more than 12,500 ingredients currently used. Plaintiffs further allege that methylene chloride can be removed through a simple and cost-effective process of vacuum-stripping.
