Target Class Action Says Up & Up Diaper Pail Refills Fall Short

Parents are in a stink after Target allegedly told them that their diaper pail refill bags would give them stress-free diaper disposal for one year, when in fact they lasted only a matter of months, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

The short supply has parents calling the company’s marketing of Target’s Up & Up brand 8-pack diaper pail refill bags “false and misleading,” and the lawsuit accuses the company of preying on new parents “yearning to simplify their lives,” who believe they’re buying a product that will save them from having to repeatedly run to the store to buy more diaper disposal bags.  

Instead, parents pay a premium for an advertised year’s worth of product, but receive a small fraction of what [Target] promises on the refill products’ labels and advertising.”

Parents Say Target's "Year's Supply" of Diaper Refills Runs Out in Months

San Diego resident Kathryn Krysinski filed the proposed class action lawsuit against Target, arguing that company’s claims that the refill product “Holds Up To 2176 Diapers” is false and misleading because no one “could ever hope to fit anywhere near that amount of soiled diapers into the refill products over the course of a year.”

She said she bought the product in 2022 for $38 relying on the prominent advertising, which is featured in multiple places on the packaging, trusting it would last the first year of diaper disposal for her newborn baby, when in fact it only lasted for six months. She had to buy refills for the pail from another brand, and said that she lost money because of Target's “improper conduct.”

Target Refills: False Advertising or Unrealistic Math?

The lawsuit says that experts, academia, pediatricians, and Target’s competitors agree that most babies require far more diapers - roughly twice as many - than the has budgeted in their equations. 

“Real world consumer experience also confirms this fact, as shown by scores of reviews of the Refill Products,” it continues. 

The lawsuit argues that if babies truly use as few diapers as implied by Target’s math, shown on the packaging, “are either being improperly taken care of by their caregivers (thereby subjecting the babies to health risks), or have health issues that are abnormal.” 

“A baby that only uses the number of diapers budgeted by Defendant should immediately seek medical attention, as low urination and defecation are major red flags that something is wrong with the baby,” the lawsuit continues.  

Diaper Pail Basics: What It Is and How It Works

According to Statista, the disposable diaper industry is a booming, multi-billion market industry that is expected to continually grow in size and revenue to hit $73 billion by 2033. The diaper pail taps into this market as a method of diaper disposal. As per the lawsuit, the diaper pail is effectively a large plastic container and lid meant to contain odor coming from soiled diapers.  

“One of its key advertised benefits is the ability to easily swap out bags of soiled diapers without having to replace a plastic bag each time as in a traditional trash can, as the system comes with a built-in bag disposal and sealing mechanism,” the lawsuit explains. A plastic ring at the top of the pail releases a continuous plastic bag that can be cut off and tied to form the “ends” of the bag, with diapers put through the center of the ring and into the bag.  

After the container is filled with dirty diapers, cutting the bag seals all the diapers trapped inside for disposal, which can then be removed and the ring will dispense more plastic from the refill cartridge, to form more bags, until the entire cartridge is used up. 

“For lack of a better descriptor, the string of diaper bags released by the refill cartridges is at times referred to as a “diaper sausage,” with customers able to separately cut each “sausage” for disposal before releasing the next bag for diapers,” the lawsuit states. But, as the lawsuit states in other words, Target’s diaper sausage refills just don’t make prime cuts. 

Target's Not-So-Fresh Track Record: Past Lawsuits Over "Natural" Labels and Benzene

We recently reportedly on how Target had been accused in a class action lawsuit of misleading consumers with "natural" pasta sauce labels for its Good and Gather pasta sauces brand. The lawsuit says Target adorns the labels with fresh veggies and statements saying they contain no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, when in fact the sauces do have artificial preservatives, according to the claims.

The retailer is also facing a separate class action lawsuit for allegedly selling Up & Up acne treatments and other popular skin care items that contain high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene.

Meanwhile, we also recently reported on how a California mom, Roz Saedi, has filed a class action lawsuit against Coterie Baby, a popular eco-friendly diaper company, accusing Coterie Baby of falsely advertising its diapers as "PFAS-free" despite containing these potentially harmful chemicals. 

In her class action lawsuit against Target, Krysinski wants to represent people from across the country who have purchased the Up & Up brand 8-pack diaper pail refill bags. She is suing for alleged violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, Breach of Express Warranty, Breach Of Implied Warranty, and Fraud.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Krysinski v Target Corporation
• Case Number: 3:24-cv-00947-CAB-VET
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Yeremey Krivoshey and Joel D. Smith (Smith Krivoshey, PC)