Williams-Sonoma Must Face Suit Over ‘Natural’ Cleaners

Williams-Sonoma Inc. lost its bid to get an early exit from a proposed class suit alleging it misleads consumers into thinking dozens of high-end “natural” cleaning products have no synthetic ingredients.

Hundreds of consumer suits have been filed challenging “natural” representations in the marketing of foods, cleaning products, and personal care products, in part because there is no uniform definition for the term.

Here, Californian Brian Kutza alleges a plausible claim over lotions, hand soaps and other products the labels of which say they are ‘natural’ and contain ‘Active Ingredients Derived from Natural Sources,’” the U.S. District Court for the ...