The Oregon Supreme Court has offered a glimmer of hope for a class-action lawsuit against Tillamook County Creamery Association.
As reported by Oregon Live, the court reversed the Oregon Court of Appeals' decision to throw out a class-action case that accuses the creamery association of "greenwashing" practices.
In 2019, four plaintiffs in Oregon filed a lawsuit alleging that the creamery association used "deceptive representations" of its products to mislead the public. The lawsuit alleges the cooperative's advertising stated that the milk used in its dairy products came from small family dairies.
More specifically, the lawsuit argues that the company portrayed the cows who provide milk for its products grazing "on pastures in Tillamook County." However, the plaintiffs allege that the cooperative "sources upwards of two thirds of the milk for its products from the largest and most industrialized dairy factory farm in the country."
Before the case was dismissed by the state's Court of Appeals, it was originally tossed out by a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge. While the ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court doesn't settle the case, it does keep it alive.
In 2024, Ian D. Parkman, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Portland, spoke to Oregon Live about certain business practices that could be considered misleading.
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"What we see is firms latching onto consumers' beliefs and perceptions," Parkman said.
"If I can call this organic or sustainable or eco, those kinds of terms then become very salient for consumers when they're making buying decisions," Parkman adds.
It has been well noted that organic food products can usually be more expensive than non-organic options because of the increased production costs that go into the process.
Through April 4, the USDA Organic Dairy Market Overview reports that the average price of a half-gallon container of organic milk in the U.S. was just under $5 in 2025. This is compared to the average price of $1.96 for a half gallon of non-organic milk in the same timeframe.
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In a study published in the journal MDPI, one researcher investigated the price differences between organic and non-organic food items in 45 retail outlets in Poland between 2022 and 2023. "The research showed that organic food price premiums ranged between 35% and over 270%," the study reads.
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