THE ACCC has launched Federal Court proceedings against Edgewell Personal Care Australia and its US-based parent company for allegedly false or misleading claims that its popular Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat branded sunscreens were ‘reef friendly’.

The claims feature on the product packaging and in various media placements.

Edgewell claimed that the sunscreens were ‘reef friendly’ because they did not contain the ingredients oxybenzone or octinoxate, but the ACCC pointed out they do contain other ingredients that cause or may cause harm to reefs.

These include octocrylene, homosalate, 4-MBC, and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (also known as avobenzone).

The company removed ‘reef friendly’ claims from its sunscreen products in the US in around 2020, but the claims continued to be made in Australia until Dec 2024.

“Many consumers consider environmental factors when purchasing products,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.

“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.”

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