Nearly two dozen consumer class actions have alleged popular products like Evian bottled water and Philips Avent baby bottles contain microplastics, but almost none have survived past dismissal.
More than half a dozen federal judges in California and Illinois, where most of the cases have been filed, have dismissed microplastics lawsuits outright. Some found that the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempted claims that the products were mislabeled, or that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had primary jurisdiction over the matter. Others concluded plaintiffs failed to provide enough scientific information about how much harm microplastics caused to consumers, and the amount of microplastics in the products at issue.