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On April 15, 2026, Sandra Kreutter filed a class action lawsuit against The Procter & Gamble Co. in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, alleging P&G deceives shoppers about the size of its Charmin Mega toilet paper by comparing it to a baseline product most consumers cannot actually buy.
The complaint describes the Charmin Regular roll that anchors every Mega sizing claim as a phantom product sold nowhere but P&G's own website and priced to discourage anyone who finds it. By using that product as a baseline, the lawsuit claims P&G manufactured a false size comparison to mislead consumers and inflate the perceived value of its Mega line.
The phantom product
No major retailer, grocery store or third-party marketplace carries the Charmin Regular product, the complaint alleges. P&G reportedly sells it only through shop.charmin.com for $3.77 per four-pack plus a $9.99 per-item shipping fee, making it $13.76 total. By comparison, the lawsuit claims a Charmin Mega package that P&G equates to 24 Regular rolls sells at Target for $7.99. During their investigation, Kreutter's attorneys ordered two Charmin Regular products for $28.22 and received only one, the complaint states.
The lawsuit likens P&G's approach to a retailer running a "sale" against a made-up original price, a tactic the Federal Trade Commission prohibits.
Alleged shrinkflation
Attorneys claim P&G quietly cut the sheet count on the Charmin Regular roll, which in turn shrinks every Mega product measured against it. Because the "6x" or "8x" claims stay on the package, no shopper sees the change, the complaint alleges.
The reductions reportedly include:
- Charmin Regular roll down more than 25% (from 71 sheets to 52)
- Most recent cut to the Regular roll from 55 sheets to 52 within the year before the lawsuit filing
- Charmin Mega XL, defined as equal to six Regular rolls, down from 426 sheets to 312
The complaint calls this hidden shrinkflation, the practice of cutting a product's size while keeping the price flat or raising it. Charmin shrinkflation is not a new accusation. CNN Business reported in 2022 that the brand's Ultra Soft 18-count mega package dropped from 264 two-ply sheets to 244 per roll. And House Digest said it found that between 2019 and 2024, a 24-pack of Charmin Ultra Strong Mega rolls lost more than 40 sheets per roll while the price climbed from $23.82 to $26.48.
The legal claims
The lawsuit brings six causes of action against P&G:
- California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, which bars unfair or deceptive practices in consumer sales
- California Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices
- California False Advertising Law, which bars untrue or misleading advertising
- Intentional misrepresentation, a common law fraud claim
- Negligent misrepresentation, applied when a company makes false statements without reasonable grounds to believe they are true
- Unjust enrichment, applied when a company profits unfairly at someone else's expense
The plaintiff seeks damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits, punitive damages, attorneys' fees and an injunction requiring P&G to change or drop the challenged marketing.
What this means for Charmin buyers
The case is at the pleading stage. The court has not certified a class, no judge has ruled on the merits and P&G has not publicly responded to the allegations. There is no settlement, no claims process and no payout at this time. The lawsuit remains pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
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