Published
June 15, 2023
Updated
July 29, 2026
This settlement resolved claims that artnaturals hand sanitizer, sold by Virgin Scent, Inc., contained benzene — a chemical classified as a human carcinogen and not an intended sanitizer ingredient. It covered U.S. purchases from January 2015 through May 2023, paying $5 per bottle without receipts up to $50, and the claim window closed in August 2023.
Current Status
Claims are closed. Claim forms had to be submitted online or postmarked by August 12, 2023. The official settlement website is no longer online, which is typical once a settlement has finished distributing. Public reporting indicates the court granted final approval in late September 2023 and that class members received payments in December 2023; OCA has not been able to read the approval order or an administrator payment announcement directly, so this page reports those two steps as reported rather than confirmed.There is nothing left to file here. If you are looking for a contamination or personal-care case that is still open, the Chantix nitrosamine settlement is accepting claims through September 14, 2026.
Status
Claims Closed — Settlement Wound Down
Administrator website offline; approval and payment reported but not verified directly.
Claim Deadline
August 12, 2023
New claims are not accepted.
Estimated Payout
$5 per unit (up to $50)
No proof: $5.00 per unit, 10-unit cap · With proof: full purchase price plus sales tax, no cap · Medical monitoring: up to $1,000
Proof Required
No
No receipts for the 10-unit tier; documentation was required for the uncapped refund tier.
What the Case Was About
Benzene is an industrial solvent classified as a human carcinogen. It is not an intended ingredient in hand sanitizer, so when independent testing reports it in a finished product, the issue is contamination rather than a formulation choice — which is why a wave of benzene findings in aerosol and alcohol-based personal care products drew litigation in the early 2020s.The class action alleged that artnaturals hand sanitizer, sold and distributed by Virgin Scent, Inc., contained dangerous levels of benzene, and that marketing and selling it that way breached express warranties and violated consumer protection laws.
Virgin Scent did not admit wrongdoing or accept responsibility, and no court found the company liable. It agreed to fund a $3,088,000 settlement to resolve the claims.
Who Was Covered?
The class covered people who purchased qualifying artnaturals hand sanitizer products sold or distributed by Virgin Scent, Inc. between January 1, 2015 and May 23, 2023.No proof of injury was required to file for the cash tiers. Purchase within the class period was the qualifying fact.
What the Settlement Paid
The settlement was structured in three components, and a claimant could qualify for more than one:• No proof of purchase: $5.00 per qualifying unit, capped at 10 units, for a maximum of $50 per claim form. Reporting more than 10 units without documentation resulted in the payment being reduced to that cap.
• With proof of purchase: the full purchase price of each product plus sales tax, with no stated cap on the number of units, provided valid evidence of each purchase was submitted.
• Medical monitoring: up to $1,000 per claimant, with no claimant receiving more than that amount. This component required a sworn declaration attesting to monitoring skin symptoms attributable to the products.
The per-unit amount was an estimate subject to adjustment based on the volume of valid and timely claims received, so actual payments were not fixed at filing time.
What Proof Was Required?
No documentation was needed to file the 10-unit, $50-maximum tier, and no administrator-issued claim ID gated the claim form, which is why this page is marked Proof Required: No.Documentation mattered for the other two components: receipts or comparable evidence of each purchase were required for the uncapped full-refund tier, and a sworn declaration was required for the medical monitoring payment. A claim form containing false information could be rejected, and it was submitted under penalty of perjury.
What Happens Next?
Nothing remains for class members to do, and the administrator's website has been taken down. Anyone who filed a claim and never received a payment no longer has a live administrator contact channel for this settlement; the class notice and case docket are the remaining record.This page is maintained as a record of the case. OCA is not the settlement administrator and cannot look up an individual claim.
Sources
• Long-form class notice published by the settlement administrator, Angeion Group• Case caption and docket: Brodowicz v. Virgin Scent, Inc. et al., No. 0:21-cv-60643 (S.D. Fla.)
• Class notice, claim form and settlement agreement previously posted on the official settlement website, which is no longer online
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$3,088,000
Case Title
Brodowicz v. Virgin Scent, Inc. et al.
Case Number
0:21-cv-60643
Court
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
Defendant
Virgin Scent, Inc., seller of artnaturals hand sanitizer
Claims
Alleged benzene contamination, breach of express warranty and consumer protection violations
Class Period
January 1, 2015 – May 23, 2023
Claim Deadline
August 12, 2023
Administrator
Angeion Group
Status
Claims Closed — Settlement Wound Down
Administrator website no longer online.
Official Notice
Archived Long-Form Notice (PDF)
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