P&G Accused of Deceptively Marketing Sleep Products as ‘Natural’

The Procter & Gamble Co. was hit with a proposed class action accusing the company of falsely advertising its ZzzQuil “PURE Zzzs” melatonin products as helping consumers “fall asleep naturally” when they contain synthetic ingredients.

Named plaintiff Valerie Perkins filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, citing violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law. The complaint states P&G’s advertising misleads reasonable consumers who rely on the “natural” representations when purchasing the sleep aids.

The synthetic ingredients in ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs products mean they cannot “naturally” help someone sleep, ...