by If you are familiar with Purple mattresses and then you must be aware of them facing a lawsuit. You may still be thinking about what it was all about and why was there even a lawsuit in the first place. It all began in 2016 with Purple being charged with a serious allegation of using anti-tack powder in their mattresses. Since anti-tack was a highly harmful material that can cause irreversible damage to the human body. Therefore, it quickly became a sensation over the internet.
So if you are wondering why the Purple mattress controversy even began what were the objectives behind this all? Continue reading the below for a detailed insight look into this lawsuit story.
How did this controversy begin with the Purple mattress?
The purple mattress controversy began in 2016. It began when the owner Ryan Monahan launched an online mattress review website named Honest Mattress Reviews.
The honest mattress review website was launched to post honest reviews about mattresses. However, in the case of purple mattresses, they started to post negative and false reviews that Purple is using a white anti-tack purple powder in their mattresses.
The reviews quickly got widespread and became a source of Purple mattress defamation. However, purple denied the allegations and even took a step further in proving that the owner of the Honest Reviews website had direct connections with Purple’s competitor GhostBed mattresses. Therefore, instead of being a defendant in this lawsuit, Purple took the stance over these allegations and sued the owner Ryan Monahan of the Honest Reviews website.
Why purple mattress received a restraining order?
In February 2017, as the investigation was on going, Purple took a restraining order from the court. The court issues the restraining order to both GhostBed CEO Mark Werner and the owner of Honest Mattress Review Ryan Monahan. The court ordered them to remove the existing defamation reviews until the investigation is ongoing.
Later after that, purple conducted a private study to prove that the white powder was not harmful and submitted their findings in front of the court.
What did purple uncover in their investigations?
Later after the court issued a restraining order to both the CEO of GhostBed and the Honest Mattress Reviews owner. Purple went ahead and conducted their private investigation of proving Honest Review owner and CEO GhostBed connections with each other.
The investigation revealed that they both were doing this deliberately for the purpose to damage the purple mattress’s reputation. However, both defendants claimed that they were not any kind of partners and even opposed the order.
The court even found out that GhostBed, with the help of another third-party company, was financing $10,000 each month to Honest Review owner. The purpose of the funds was to keep running the defamation campaign against Purple mattress.
Why Purple Mattress did sue Honest Mattress?
Instead of being a defendant, the Purple Mattress took the initiative and filed a petition by itself. The petition was against both the Honest Mattress Reviews owner Ryan Monahan and Ghost Bed CEO Mark Werner.
The reason was to prove their innocence that the anti-tack agent was not harmful at all and Purple even submitted their findings to the court with the help of an independent private investigation.
Since purple was sure that the white powder, which both the defendant claimed to be highly dangerous, did not have any adverse health effects on the humans. Determined by their innocence, Purple mattress, instead of playing on the back foot of just defending themselves with the allegations.
They took a step forward to sue both the Honest Mattress owner and CEO of GhostBed mattresses and even proved their association with each other. The case was a win for the purple mattress with enough pieces of evidence submitted from their side.
What is the Purple Mattress Powder?
The white powder is a polythene-based powder used in the packing and shipping of purple mattresses. The use of the powder was just to ensure that the mattress remains intact inside the shipping box when packed. However, this powder became the heart of the controversy.
While some studies still claim that it is toxic to human health. But purple still claims and even proved that it is not harmful at all.
The purple claim that the white powder cannot penetrate the mattress cover and damage the human skin. Unfortunately, despite all that, the Honest Review still claimed in their review that the mattresses are harmful and even cause adverse health effects. Therefore, it forced Purple to sue Honest Mattress Review and later even the CEO of GhostBed mattress.
What was the result of the Lawsuit?
The lawsuit started when Purple Mattress took the initiative of filing a case against Honest Mattress Reviews owner Ryan Monahan. Since Purple knew that they were not guilty of using any harmful substances or chemicals in their mattresses.
Even the anti-tack white powder that Ryan Monahan claimed was toxic, purple proved it safe for mattress use with the help of a study conducted through their private investigation.
Later, as a result, Purple even took a restraining order and forced Honest Mattress Review to remove the false accusation reviews until the investigations were ongoing. Purple also proved in another private investigation that both Ryan Monahan and CEO GhostBed Mark Werner were doing it together with the purpose to defame Purple mattress. With enough evidence submitted, the court announced Purple as being innocent.
Was the powder dangerous for mattress use?
As a result of the investigation, Purple was successful enough to prove in front of the court that the White powder was not dangerous to human health. The white powder was similar to the same hyper-elastic polymer which the other manufacturers were using in the production of their plastic bottles, cosmetics, containers, and other products which most consumers trust without a doubt.
Some medical devices also have the polythene-based powder in their manufacturing. You can even find this material widely in pacifiers that babies use and in pet chewing toys. Therefore, there are a lot of products and items made using the same polythene-based powder which is not harmful to human usage.
Are there any other complaints about the Purple Mattress?
Below are some common complaints that Purple Mattress customers complain about:
Customer Services
Some Purple customers complain that their inquiries made over the company’s website or phone calls are left unattended. This is only a case with a few customers not with everyone. However, the company does have a shortage of staff to handle their customer services.
Sagging
Mattress sagging is another issue that some customers reported. They claim that the mattress does not provide enough support and comfort while sleeping and this tends to happen after 1 year of use. Sagging further leads to body aches and pain in those customers.
Return Policy
Purple offers a 100-night free trial to its users and they can even return it if the mattress is not a right fit for their use. However, the return process becomes a little hard for some customers to follow and does not end well so smoothly.
Order Tracking
Order tracking was poor for some customers with purple mattresses. There were no updates given to them about their order and for some customers, the orders were already delivered without any notice.
Shipping and Delivery
Shipping and deliveries are also late sometimes and Purple even fails to update their customers about it. Sometimes the deliveries are there at the front gate without any prior notice.
Warranty Claims
Purple offers a 10-year warranty for any manufacturing defects. However, customers who start to experience defects after a year time find it difficult to claim their warranty. So they eventually have to wait for months for the replacements.
Conclusion
The bottom line of the case was that both Honest Mattress Reviews and the CEO of GhostBed falsely accused Purple mattresses of using toxic white powder.
Purple mattresses are safe to use for humans as they proved in front of the court. Their white powder controversy was just a lie to defame them. However, Purple did the right thing by filing a suitcase instead of just defending themselves. It would have sent a positive message to their customers that they are innocent, which they were, to gain a positive image. If you are still worried about any issues with your Purple mattress make sure to check their warranty terms before buying them.