There are several questions at the center of a lawsuit filed against Thrive Causemetics and its CEO. One of them asks, did Thrive make good on its brand promise to donate to charity for every product purchased?

The plaintiff, who purchased a product from Thrive due to her belief in their charitable mission, feels the answer is no and that she was misled.

Thrive Causemetics maintains they are not misleading their customers, and they’re proud of their giving.

“The allegation that we don’t make a donation for every product purchased is false,” said Karissa Bodnar, founder and CEO, Thrive Cuasemetics. “Our giving has been part of our DNA since day one.”

The lawsuit explains that Thrive’s stated mission on their website is “Beauty with a Purpose. For every product purchased, one is donated to help a woman thrive.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Thrive Causemetics (@thrivecausemetics) on Jul 4, 2018 at 10:51am PDT

If the phrasing of the mission was accurate at the time of the composure of the lawsuit, then the copy on Thrive’s website has been altered. The mission currently (at the time of publish) states, “For every Thrive Causemetics product purchased, we donate to help a woman thrive.”

This wording change could be at the heart of the issue, because the plaintiff is very specific in her claim. The suit doesn’t accuse Thrive of completely shirking its responsibility to donate, it does state that the “company fails to donate one product to a woman in need for every product purchased.”

The lawsuit includes several media excerpts where Karissa alludes to one-for-one, a business model made popular by brands like TOMS:

I wanted a one-for-one model like TOMS shoes that we call Beauty with a Purpose (I even trademarked the phrase!); for every beauty product sold, one would be donated to a woman with cancer. It’s really hard to get any new business off the ground, but it’s even more difficult when your model is to give some products away for free.

-Excerpt from “I Started a Cosmetics Company to Honor My Friend Who Died of Cancer,” published on September 23, 2015 in Women’s Health.

Our donation model is different from TOMS. We are giving away the exact same product [that’s sold]. That really connects with the consumer and the woman who is receiving the product feels like she is being taken care of and is supported. The transformation in a woman’s self-esteem can be incredible.

-Excerpt from “Thrive Causemetics to Hold Beauty Runway Show During NYFW,” published on February 10, 2016 in WWD.

The plaintiff also includes copy from the transactional emails she received after placing her order.

She cites three separate emails that contain the phrase, “For every product you purchase, we donate one to a woman in need.”

Essentially the complainant argues that customers are inspired to purchase Thrive products and are willing to pay higher prices due to the brand’s claims that those same products are being donated.

There is anecdotal evidence to support that this is the belief of Thrive’s customers.

Take a look at some of the comments on the video, “My Issue With Thrive Causemetics” posted by Kackie Reviews Beauty on YouTube.

For context, Kackie gave the brand a less than stellar review and many commenters were displeased by her opinion.

“I know Thrive is a little expensive but they are vegan, cruelty free and for every product purchased they donate one of the same items to domestic abuse victims as well as women fighting cancer,” wrote Stacey Williams. “How many other brands of makeup donate for every product sold? They have terrific products and are donating for valid causes so I think it is worth every penny.”

“I lost my sister to breast cancer,” explained Patty Ross. “I remember the day we had a head shaving ceremony with her. Through some laughter, but mostly tears, she washed away the the last remnant of feminine identity she felt she had. Beautiful scarves, wigs and yes makeup, helped her get through that ordeal. I will gladly pay twice as much to help any woman feel better through such terrible times.”

“Thrive Causemetics [gives] a women in need cosmetics every time you order from them! You give me a bad taste!!!!!” commented Martie Hensley–the you of course being Kackie, the vlogger of the video.

We reached out to Thrive in our attempt to understand if Thrive does in fact donate a product for every product purchased. As a response, the CEO gave us highlights of the brand’s admirable history of charity.

Thrive donated 2,000 units of Thrive eyelashes, “to women going through cancer before we ever sold a single product,” said Karissa.

The brand also explained the growth of their charitable activity over time.

“For all of 2015, we gave to women going through cancer,” Karissa explained. “In 2016, we expanded our efforts to include women going through domestic violence. In 2017 we grew our movement to include supporting formerly homeless women re-entering the workforce.”

“After seeing the devastation in Northern and Southern California, we were compelled to donate 100% of our profits from an entire day of sales to support the victims of the fires – this campaign resulted in $250,000 of contributions to five different organizations,” Karissa continued.

Although Thrive illustrates an impressive track record for giving, Karissa’s response falls short of explaining how they make good on their promise to donate the same product of every product sold.

The company’s response ignored requests for both Thrive’s “annual charitable donation amounts from 2014 to 2017, and a year-to-date amount for 2018,” as well as the “charitable donation amounts in comparison to total revenue.”

In order to properly assess if Thrive makes good on its “one-for-one” claims, one would have to compare the quantity of products sold versus the quantity donated or the monetary amount of products sold versus the amount of monetary donations made.

For example, if Company Z donated $5 million one year, that stat or figure alone may seem impressive.

But if you pair this figure with Company Z’s $70 million in revenue that same year, then that $5 million of charitable giving becomes questionable.

Although Karissa doesn’t share the specifics of Thrive’s historical giving, she does state, “Our sales always correspond with a commensurate gift…”

Privately-owned companies have the right to keep their earnings private, but it may not be unfair to expect a brand that has marketed itself like a charity, and benefited from being viewed through that charitable lens, to operate more transparently.

The plaintiff’s legal team was contacted for comment, this article will be updated if they respond. The lawsuit is a class action so this means a large number of plaintiffs. If you purchased a product from Thrive Causemetics that may include you. If you’d like more information on the suit you can view the text of the class action lawsuit.