Vunella Naturals’ Mother’s Day Sale

In case you need a reminder, Sunday is Mother’s Day. If you’re looking for something for mom, Vunella Naturals is having a Mother’s Day sale. “Up to 80% off shampoo & conditioner bars,” the company advertises in its Instagram ad.

But this isn’t the mother of a deal it might appear to be.

That’s because clicking on the Vunella Instagram ad takes consumers to the company’s website, where only four shampoo bars are discounted 80 percent (no conditioner bars are eligible for the maximum savings advertised). The vast majority of the bars – 23 out of 27 – are discounted 36 percent.

According to the FTC, advertisers using “up to” claims “should be able to substantiate that consumers are likely to achieve the maximum results promised under normal circumstances” because that is what many consumers believe they will get when they see “up to” in an ad.

TINA.org looked into the company’s Mother’s Day sale after receiving a tip from a consumer.

But wait, there’s more.

• Consumers cannot check out until their total reaches $7. Which means that it’s impossible to purchase one or even two shampoo bars at the maximum discount advertised because, at $2.50 a bar, the total doesn’t add up to $7.

• Vunella claims on its website that “[e]very shampoo & conditioner bar comes in plastic free compostable packaging from our warehouse in Florida.” But it’s unclear whether this means the packaging is able to be composted at home or that it must be taken to a commercial or municipal composting facility. If it’s the latter and such facilities are not available to a “substantial majority” of consumers, the FTC’s Green Guides advises that marketers qualify their compostable claims. (The Green Guides are currently under review. Read TINA.org’s comment here.)

TINA.org reached out to Vunella for comment. Check back for updates.

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