The owner of suncare brand’s Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic has been taken to court over alleged “greenwashing” claims.
Australian regulator ACCC has launched court proceedings against Edgewell Personal Care Australia and its US parent company, Edgewell PCC, for allegedly stating that the brand’s products were ‘reef friendly’.
The claims were advertised across Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreen products, ranging from their websites, social media, retailer catalogues and in other publications.
Several Hawaiian Tropic products also contained a logo on the packaging, which included the words ‘reef friendly’ and an image of a piece of coral.
ACCC said the Edgewell Personal Care brand’s ‘reef friendly’ claims were because its products did not contain ingredients oxybenzone or octinoxate.
These chemicals have been banned in some jurisdictions, including the State of Hawaii, due to the damage they cause to reefs.
However, the sunscreens contained other ingredients which the ACCC alleges either cause harm to reefs, including coral and marine life, or risk causing harm to reefs.
These ingredients include octocrylene, homosalate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane.
“We allege that Edgewell engaged in greenwashing by making claims about the environmental benefits of Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens that it had no reasonable or scientific basis to make,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
“Many consumers consider environmental factors when purchasing products.
“By engaging in this alleged greenwashing, we say Edgewell deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed decision and may have prevented them from purchasing a different brand of sunscreen that did not contain chemicals which risked causing harm to reefs.”
The ACCC alleges that the Edgewell companies made misleading representations, including that the products did not cause harm to reefs or give rise to a risk of harm to reefs.
The ACCC is seeking penalties, declarations, injunctions, costs and other orders.
Loewe added: “We believe this conduct was widespread and risked potentially misleading a large number of consumers.
The sunscreen products were supplied throughout Australia over a period of four years, including in large stores and online websites.
“Businesses should not shy away from promoting the environmental credentials of their products, but they must be able to substantiate any claims, for example, through reputable third-party certification or reliable scientific reports.”
Cosmetics Business has contacted Edgewell Personal Care for a comment.
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