Lyon Firm Files Mondelez Clif Bar Deceptive Marketing Lawsuit
The Lyon Firm, alongside other class action attorneys, has filed a deceptive marketing complaint, naming Mondelez International Inc. as a defendant. The lawsuit alleges that the food and beverage company falsely advertises that its Clif Kid ZBar and ZBar Protein products are “climate neutral.”
Our legal team holds large corporations accountable for potentially deceptively marketing and illegal greenwashing tactics that sell an eco-friendly image without properly following through with “natural,” “carbon neutral,” and “sustainable” claims.
Mondelez Clif Bar Climate Neutral Greenwashing Lawsuit
Plaintiff Cynthia Salguero has filed a complaint against Mondelez and is claiming the company’s “climate neutral” claims are untrue and deceptive. Due to the manufacturing, marketing and transportation of the products contributing to climate change with the release of great quantities of greenhouse gases, it would require more company action to attain the “climate neutral” status that they claim.
The individual is representing a nationwide class and California subclass of consumers who purchased the Clif Kid products in question. Attorneys argue that producing the Clif Kid bars results in the emission of around 54,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the annual emissions of 12,596 gasoline-powered automobiles.
“Therefore, Defendant’s climate neutral claim is false and misleading because the Product’s manufacturing and distribution results in substantial carbon emissions, other greenhouse gas emissions, and harm to the climate,” the Clif Kid ZBar class action complaint says.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for consumers who potentially would not have purchased the Clif Kid products, and possibly would not have paid a premium for the product, had they known that the “climate neutral” claim was misleading. The plaintiff claims Mondelez is guilty of breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment, and violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of compensatory, statutory and punitive damages for all class members nationwide.
This is not the first legal trouble for the company. Clif Bar & Co. previously agreed to pay $12 million to end claims that the company’s Clif Bar packaging contained misleading claims to make the products appear healthy.
Have you bought Clif Kid ZBar and ZBar Protein products? Contact our greenwashing lawyers to discuss this case or another involving false advertising.
The plaintiff is represented by David Cialkowski, Brian Gudmundson, Rachel Tack and Benjamin Cooper of Zimmerman Reed LLP; Joseph Lyon, Kevin Cox and Alex Reid of The Lyon Firm; and Christopher Jennings and Tyler Ewigleben of Jennings & Early PLLC.
Consumers are willing to pay substantially more for products thought to fight climate change and seen as sustainable. With this in mind, however, many companies are getting overzealous with their marketing language and claims, and may overstep the reality of their green efforts. If any company engages in greenwashing or false advertising, and exaggerates the benefits of their corporate “carbon offsetting,” they can be held accountable.