Headaches For Costco Mount With Recent Recalls And Class Action Suits

(NewsSpace.com) – Costco is one of the most popular warehouse chains in the country. People regularly shop there for bulk discounts on products for personal and business use. However, the chain has been plagued recently with recalls and class-action lawsuits that have brought the company negatively into the spotlight.

There are currently two class-action lawsuits against Costco. One alleges that the company has falsely promised its customers that it would disclose if a product can be found cheaper in-store versus online. Consumers claim that instead of honoring the promise, the company marks up the price of its goods online but doesn’t notify customers of the price difference, leading them to pay more.

The second class-action lawsuit filed against Costco involves Kirkland-branded baby wipes. The fragrance-free variety, customers say, contains unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” That’s because the chemicals do not biodegrade or break down over time but rather remain in the environment forever. The FDA has since banned the dangerous substances. The Costco product is manufactured by Nice-Pak Products Inc., which is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. The company says the baby wipes are made using only naturally derived ingredients. Testing, the lawsuit says, proves otherwise.

Costco recently settled another class-action lawsuit over its flushable wipes, where the plaintiffs claimed the products weren’t actually flushable. Those who purchased Kirkland Signature Moist Flushable Wipes may be eligible for a small settlement sum.

In addition to the two pending class-action lawsuits, Costco is also facing a multitude of product recalls. It recently issued a notice for more than half a million store-branded chargers, some of which caused house fires and significant damages. Other products under the recall include cheese slices from Tillamook, which could contain plastic pieces, and cookie dough, which could be contaminated with salmonella.