A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of L’Oréal Paris’ customer base, who may have been ‘deceived’ by the company’s marketing. Those who purchased products, believing they were made in France, may be entitled to compensation.
The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that L’Oréal violated consumer protection laws of many states. As well as California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law.
L’Oréal labels its beauty products with a prominent “Paris” representation. L’Oréal also includes prominent French-language descriptions on many of its beauty products. Here is an example:
According to the lawsuit, a reasonable consumer would understand, based on L’Oréal’s advertisements and packaging, that L’Oréal’s products are made in France and imported into the United States.
“Consumers care where beauty products are made, and France in particular is known for its high-quality cosmetics,” said Christin Cho of Dovel & Luner. “Companies shouldn’t be allowed to trick people into thinking that their products are made in France, when in fact they are made in Arkansas.”
When associating makeup with a place of origin such as France, one assumes the production is of superior quality. However a simple check on the list of ingredients would tell you that it’s nothing special. Yes, there is French writing on the label. But, if it’s sold in places like Canada, that’s standard practice as there are many French-Canadians. So just because there is a second language on packaging does not constitute that it is made in any particular place.
After personally checking out the website, no mention of country of origin for products is found. So I believe the lawsuit may have a foothold there.
We’re not sure how this will turn out, but it’s an interesting thing to keep an eye on. Whatever happens with this may set a precedent on how makeup companies can market their products in the future.
