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Is bottled water really \u201cnatural\u201d if it\u2019s contaminated with microplastics? A series of lawsuits recently filed against six bottled water brands claim that it\u2019s deceptive to use labels like \u201c100 percent mountain spring water\u201d and \u201cnatural spring water\u201d \u2014 not because of the water\u2019s provenance, but because it is likely tainted with tiny plastic fragments.<\/p>\n
Reasonable consumers, the suits allege, would read those labels and assume bottled water to be totally free of contaminants; if they knew the truth, they might not have bought it. \u201cPlaintiff would not have purchased, and\/or would not have paid a price premium\u201d for bottled water had they known it contained \u201cdangerous substances,\u201d reads the lawsuit filed against the bottled water company Poland Spring.<\/p>\n
The six lawsuits target the companies that own Arrowhead, Crystal Geyser, Evian, Fiji, Ice Mountain, and Poland Spring. They are variously seeking damages for lost money, wasted time, and \u201cstress, aggravation, frustration, loss of trust, loss of serenity, and loss of confidence in product labeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts aren\u2019t sure it\u2019s a winning legal strategy, but it\u2019s a creative new approach for consumers hoping to protect themselves against the ubiquity of microplastics. Research over the past several years has identified these particles \u2014 fragments of plastic less than 5 millimeters in diameter \u2014 just about everywhere, in nature and in people\u2019s bodies. Studies have linked them to an array of health concerns, including heart disease, reproductive problems, metabolic disorder, and, in one recent landmark study, an increased risk of death from any cause.<\/p>\n
Of the six class-action lawsuits, five were filed earlier this year by the law firm of Todd M. Friedman, a consumer protection and employment firm with locations in California, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The sixth was filed by the firm Ahdoot & Wolfson on behalf of a New York City resident.<\/p>\n
Each lawsuit uses the same general argument to make its case, beginning with research on the prevalence of microplastics in bottled water. Several of them cite a 2018 study from Orb Media and the State University of New York in Fredonia that found microplastic contamination in 93 percent of bottles tested across 11 brands in nine countries. In half of the brands tested, researchers found more than 1,000 pieces of microplastic per liter. (A standard bottle can hold about half a liter of water.) More recent research has found that typical water bottles have far higher levels: 240,000 particles per liter on average, taking into account smaller fragments known as \u201cnanoplastics.\u201d<\/p>\n