A US federal judge has scheduled a trial for 10 April 2028 in a class action lawsuit alleging that Colgate-Palmolive made misleading recyclability claims on certain toothpaste tubes.
The case concerns Colgate and Tom’s of Maine toothpaste products carrying claims including ‘recyclable tube’, ‘first of its kind recyclable tube’ and the chasing arrows recycling symbol.
Three consumers brought the case in 2023, alleging that the claims were misleading because the tubes were not accepted for recycling by materials recovery facilities (MRFs) receiving their waste in California.
Unavailable recycling
They also allege that consumers paid more for products carrying the recyclability claims and that toothpaste tube recycling was not available to most California residents.
Colgate-Palmolive has argued that it developed a recyclable toothpaste tube made primarily from #2 HDPE, which is widely used for bottles for products such as soap and detergents.
The company said it spent five years developing the tube and began transitioning products to the new packaging over a further five-year period. It has said the tubes can be recycled through the #2 HDPE recycling stream in California.
The court certified a class in April 2026 covering California consumers who purchased Colgate or Tom’s of Maine toothpaste products carrying ‘recyclable tube’ language on the outer package between 29 August 2019 and the filing of the lawsuit in 2023.
Colgate-Palmolive appealed the class certification decision, but the court denied its request in July.
Collection and recycling
The case is now moving through discovery, with the jury trial expected to last approximately 10 days.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys have indicated that they intend to subpoena MRFs and waste management companies operating in California, including WM and Republic Services, for documents concerning the collection and recycling of the tubes, as reported by Packaging Dive.
Colgate-Palmolive said in its appeal that it had transitioned approximately 200 toothpaste stock-keeping units to the new packaging by the time the lawsuit was brought.
It also said the packaging was manufactured without recyclability claims for approximately 40 per cent of the class period.
Last year, Colgate-Palmolive’s tube design received the Association of Plastic Recyclers’ (APR) Package Design Innovation Award. The APR said the mono-material tube represented a ‘paradigm shift’ and could help move toothpaste packaging towards recycling-ready designs.
