Tom’s Natural Kids Toothpaste Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Dangerous Levels of Lead and Arsenic

Consumer group reports the toothpaste contains 4,800% more lead than the threshold at which experts recommend action for children’s products.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the makers of Tom’s Natural Kids Toothpaste, raising allegations that the manufacturers deceptively marketed their products as safe, while failing to disclose unsafe levels of toxic lead and arsenic.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Douglas White in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on February 6, naming Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Tom’s of Maine, Inc. as defendants.

Toxic heavy metals like lead and arsenic have been linked to serious health risks, including mental illness, dementia, hypertension and an increased risk of certain cancers. In children, exposure to these metals is especially dangerous, as they can interfere with brain development, leading to cognitive impairments, behavioral issues and long-term neurological disorders.

Concerns over toxic heavy metals in children’s products have been a major concern in recent years, after a U.S. Congressional report released in 2021 highlighted internal documents and testing results regarding the baby food heavy metal contamination, finding some products contained more than 91 times the maximum level of arsenic allowed in bottled water, 177 times the allowable levels of lead, 69 times the limits on cadmium and five times the levels of allowable mercury.

Following the announcement, dozens of families are now pursuing toxic baby food lawsuits for children diagnosed with autism or ADHD, each raising similar allegations that manufacturers played on the parents’ trust that products would be safe, while concealing the levels of toxic elements present for years.

In the recently filed Tom’s Natural children’s toothpaste class action lawsuit, White states that the consumer safety group Lead Safe Mama tested Tom’s Natural Kids Toothpaste for heavy metals, and found lead and arsenic levels that are not only hazardous to adults, but “staggeringly more dangerous for children.”

According to Lead Safe Mama testing results, Tom’s Natural Kids Toothpaste has four times the level of arsenic and 48 times the level of lead that scientists and medical experts believe action should be taken on a children’s product.

In addition, White contends that the product’s packaging and marketing would lead consumers to believe that the toothpaste is safe for children to use, despite the alleged presence of high levels of heavy metals in it.

“Defendants’ advertising and marketing campaign is false, deceptive, and misleading because the Product does contain, or risks containing, lead and arsenic, which are dangerous to one’s health and well-being,” White stated in the complaint. “Nevertheless, Defendants do not list or mention lead nor arsenic anywhere on the Product’s packaging or labeling.”

White’s lawsuit alleges violations of New York general business laws, negligence and unjust enrichment by the defendants. He seeks monetary, statutory, treble and punitive damages on behalf of himself and others similarly affected.