The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has begun Federal Court proceedings against Edgewell Personal Care Australia and its US parent, Edgewell Personal Care Company, alleging the companies made false or misleading “reef friendly” claims about many Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens.
The ACCC says Edgewell Australia breached the Australian Consumer Law by promoting the products as “reef friendly” across company websites, social media, retailer catalogues and other publications, and by using a logo on several Hawaiian Tropic packs that included the words “reef friendly” and an image of coral. The regulator alleges the representations were made between August 2020 and December 2024, following “advice, guidance and direction” from Edgewell PCC.
Edgewell marketed the products as not containing oxybenzone or octinoxate — chemicals banned in some jurisdictions, including the State of Hawaii, because of their damage to reefs. But the ACCC alleges many of the sunscreens contained other ingredients that either cause harm to reefs or risk doing so: octocrylene, homosalate, 4‑methylbenzylidene camphor (4‑MBC, also known as enzacamene), and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (avobenzone). The case relates to more than 90 Edgewell sunscreen products sold in Australia at various times over the four-year period.
The regulator also alleges Edgewell PCC and/or Edgewell Australia were aware of scientific studies, literature or reports indicating those ingredients could adversely affect reefs or posed a risk of such harm, and that neither company commissioned testing of the ingredients’ impact on reefs.
Edgewell PCC removed “reef friendly” claims from its US products around 2020, the ACCC says, but the claims continued to appear 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 court filing the ACCC is seeking penalties, declarations, injunctions, costs and other orders.
Edgewell Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Edgewell PCC, a New York Stock Exchange‑listed multinational consumer products company that supplies personal care brands including Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat. The ACCC noted its December 2023 guidance for businesses on making environmental and sustainability claims, which sets out expected practice to avoid misleading consumers.
The ACCC has lodged initiating court documents in the matter; it said it would not upload further documents if those papers are subsequently amended. There was no immediate response to the court action from Edgewell in the ACCC announcement.
