Edgewell Personal Care Australia and its US-based parent company, Edgewell Personal Care Company (Edgewell PCC) are facing legal action due to alleged misleading claims about their Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens being ‘reef friendly.’
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched proceedings against Edgewell Australia for violating the Australian Consumer Law by promoting many Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens as ‘reef friendly’ through websites, social media, retailer catalogues, and other publications.
In addition, some Hawaiian Tropic products displayed a logo on their packaging bearing the phrase ‘reef friendly’ alongside an image of a coral.
The ACCC contends that the company called the sunscreens ‘reef friendly’ from August 2020 to December 2024, acting on advice, guidance, and direction from its parent company Edgewell PCC.
Edgewell Australia’s claims were based on the absence of oxybenzone or octinoxate, which have been banned in some regions like Hawaii for damaging reefs.
Despite the ‘reef friendly’ claims, the ACCC says the sunscreens contained ingredients like octocrylene, homosalate, 4-MBC, and avobenzone that either harm or pose a risk to coral reefs and marine life. Over 90 sunscreen products sold during the four-year period are involved in the case.
The ACCC further alleges that Edgewell PCC and/or Edgewell Australia knew of scientific studies, literature, or other reports suggesting that certain ingredients posed a risk to reefs or harm them, yet did not conduct any testing to assess the impact of the ingredients on reefs.
While the ‘reef friendly’ label was removed from Edgewell PCC’s sunscreen products around 2020, the ACCC alleges that the label continued to be used in Australia until December 2024.
As part of its case, the Commission states that the Edgewell companies made misleading statements, representing that their products did not harm, or were not likely to harm, reefs.
Furthermore, it is argued that Edgewell falsely conveyed that the claims were backed by a reasonable or scientifically reliable basis.
“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,” said Catriona Lowe, ACCC Deputy Chair.
“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.”