Ulta Beauty has been hit with a class action lawsuit that alleges the company misled consumers over its Conscious Beauty initiative.
The US retailer launched the scheme in 2020 and certifies brands under five pillars: clean ingredients, cruelty-free, vegan, sustainable packaging and positive impact.
A class action lawsuit filed in California, US, claims that products under the Conscious Beauty banner contain ingredients that are prohibited.
Ulta’s Made Without List contains dozens of ingredients, such as parabens and benzophenone, that are commonly associated with adverse health and/or environmental impacts.
Brands participating in the Clean Ingredients pillar of Conscious Beauty all formulate their hair, skin, make-up, body and fragrance products to the Made Without List standards, which prohibit or limit the use of certain ingredients, according to Ulta’s website.
Margaret Garvey, the plaintiff who is represented by Morris Law Firm, Orlowsky Law and Goffstein Law, claims the representations of the products as made with “clean ingredients” and marketed as part of Conscious Beauty are false and misleading, according to the court filing.
Garvey claims that she and others “suffered an injury in the amount of the purchase price and/or the premium paid”, the filing states.
An Ulta Beauty spokesperson said in a statement provided to Cosmetics Business: "We take our commitment to Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty seriously and are committed to providing our guests transparency around our Conscious Beauty criteria, how products are formulated and packaged, and how brands are enrolled and verified in our Conscious Beauty pillars, so our guests can make informed choices about the products they use.
"We are proud of the progress we have made since launching Conscious Beauty five years ago and remain committed to furthering transparency and positive change in the beauty industry."