The ACCC has launched Federal Court proceedings against Edgewell Personal Care Australia Pty Ltd and its US-based parent company, Edgewell Personal Care Company or Edgewell PCC, for allegedly false or misleading claims that its popular Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat branded sunscreens were 'reef friendly'.
The ACCC alleges Edgewell Australia breached the Australian Consumer Law when it made the claims about many Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreen products across its websites, social media, in 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.
The ACCC alleges Edgewell Australia made the 'reef friendly' claims between August 2020 and December 2024 based on advice, guidance and direction from Edgewell PCC.
Edgewell claimed that the sunscreens were 'reef friendly', including because they did not contain '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 are octocrylene, homosalate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (also known as 4-MBC or enzacamene), and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (also known as avobenzone). The ACCC's case relates to more than 90 Edgewell sunscreen products, sold at various times over the four years, which contained one or more of these ingredients.
The ACCC also alleges Edgewell PCC and/or Edgewell Australia were aware of scientific studies, literature or other reports that indicated the ingredients, or some of them, were known to adversely affect reefs or that there was a risk of such harm, and that neither company commissioned any testing in relation to the ingredients and their impact on reefs.
Edgewell PCC removed 'reef friendly' claims from its sunscreen products in the US in around 2020, however we allege the claims continued to be made in Australia until December 2024.
"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."
"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," Ms Lowe said.
"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," Ms Lowe said.
In its case, the ACCC alleges that the Edgewell companies made a number of misleading representations, including that the products did not cause harm to reefs or give rise to a risk of harm to reefs. The ACCC also alleges that the Edgewell companies misleadingly represented that Edgewell had a reasonable basis for making these representations, or that there was a reliable scientific basis for making the representations.
The ACCC is seeking penalties, declarations, injunctions, costs and other orders.
Images of the Reef Friendly Logo on Hawaiian Tropic product packaging
Close up image of the logo
Background
Edgewell Personal Care Australia Pty Ltd ('Edgewell Australia') is a wholly owned subsidiary of Edgewell Personal Care Company (Edgewell PCC).
Edgewell Australia supplies and promotes the Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreen products in Australia.
Edgewell PCC is a New York Stock Exchange listed, multinational consumer products manufacturer company based in the United States. It is one of the world's largest manufacturers of personal care products, supplying products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, and feminine care categories, including sunscreen products under the Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat brands.
In December 2023, the ACCC published its guidance for businesses on making environmental and sustainability claims. It sets out what the ACCC considers to be misleading conduct and good practice when making such claims, to help businesses provide clear, accurate and trustworthy information to consumers about the current and future environmental performance of their business.
Concise statement
This document contains the ACCC's initiating court document in relation to this matter. We will not be uploading further documents in the event these initial documents are subsequently amended.
ACCC v Edgewell - Concise Statement ( PDF 534.6 KB )
