ACCC Takes Sunscreen Giants to Court Over Alleged Greenwashing Claims

The ACCC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Edgewell Personal Care Australia and its parent company, US-based Edgewell Personal Care Company (Edgewell PCC), over alleged false and misleading claims that their popular Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens were “reef friendly”.

The ACCC alleges that Edgewell Australia breached the ACL by promoting a range of its sunscreen products as “reef friendly” across websites, social media, retail catalogues, and other advertising materials between August 2020 and December 2024. Some Hawaiian Tropic products also featured a “reef friendly” logo on their packaging, which included the image of coral.

According to the ACCC, these representations were made under the advice and direction of Edgewell PCC. The companies marketed their sunscreens as being free from oxybenzone and octinoxate, chemicals banned in places like Hawaii due to their harmful effects on coral reefs. However, the ACCC alleges that the products contained other ingredients such as octocrylene, homosalate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (avobenzone) that are known, or suspected, to damage coral and marine ecosystems.

The case concerns over 90 sunscreen products sold across Australia during the four-year period, each of which allegedly contained one or more of these potentially harmful ingredients.

The ACCC further alleges that Edgewell PCC and/or Edgewell Australia were aware of scientific studies and reports linking these ingredients to environmental harm yet failed to conduct any testing to confirm their impact on reef systems.

While “reef friendly” claims were removed from Edgewell’s US products around 2020, the ACCC says those claims remained in Australian marketing until at least December 2024.

“We allege Edgewell engaged in greenwashing by making environmental claims about its sunscreens without a reasonable or scientific basis,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.

“Environmental claims influence many Australians’ purchasing decisions. By promoting its products as ‘reef friendly’, we believe Edgewell misled consumers and may have discouraged them from buying alternative sunscreens that did not contain ingredients posing a risk to reef health.”

“This was not a one-off issue. These products were widely available in stores and online across Australia for several years,” Ms Lowe said. “Businesses are encouraged to communicate the environmental benefits of their products, but they must be prepared to substantiate these claims—ideally using credible scientific evidence or independent third-party certification.”

The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions, penalties, legal costs, and other orders from the Court.