Actess Kate Hudson, pictured in London today, is being sued after allegedly stealing a secret hair-care ingredient

Actress Kate Hudson is being sued for allegedly stealing a secret hair-care ingredient and giving it to a rival company.

The Almost Famous Oscar nominee is accused of making a verbal deal to promote a line of hair products for a Los Angeles company, 220 Laboratories, featuring volcanic ash from the Vanuatu Islands in the South Pacific.

According to a 17-count lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Hudson and her partners took the secret ingredient list to a competitor who could make the shampoos and conditioners more cheaply.

Since then she has promoted the new line, David Babaii for Wildaid, as eco-friendly products in a video, on television and in interviews.

She and Babaii, a stylist whose clients include Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Scarlett Johannson and Gwyneth Paltrow, work with Wildaid, a charity working to end illegal trade in wildlife.

Hudson appears on the website db4wildaid.com promoting the product.

The site states: 'Ten-percent of sales go to WildAid - a non-profit  organisation that works to reverse the devastation of our planet’s wildlife.

'To accomplish this, we’ve developed an innovative new line of styling products with an exclusive blend of exotic natural and  renewable ingredients.

Lawyers for The Almost Famous actress claim Ms Hudson has never spoken with the plaintiffs

'Rich Cupuacu butter from the South American  Amazon, nutrient rich super volumizing volcanic ash from the Vanuatu  islands of the South Pacific, Blue Algae, and Polynesian White  Ginger, to name but a few.'

The company is now suing her, Babaii and the rival company, Universal Packing Systems, for causes including fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and breach of confidence, seeking unspecified damages.     

But Fool's Gold Hudson, 29, whose next film, My Best Friend's Girl, is released in November, said she does not even know the people who are suing her.

Her publicist, Brad Cafarelli, told E! News : 'Kate and her attorneys are only just learning of the complaint as Kate has not yet been served.

'Kate does not know the plaintiffs and has never met with them or spoken with them.

'Her representatives believe that the claims are baseless and without merit and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit.'