Coppertone Class Action Says ‘Mineral-Based’ Labels Are Misleading

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals by consumers who claim that the company’s Coppertone sunscreens contain harmful ingredients that they pass off as mineral-based.

Plaintiff Steven Prescott states that he purchased Coppertone Sport Face Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion at a Rite Aid store in California for $8 in 2017.

He says that legitimate mineral-based sunscreens will contain up to 24 percent titanium dioxide or zinc oxide with no chemical ingredients. However, the Coppertone sport sunscreen reportedly contains 12 percent chemical active ingredients and only 9.7 percent mineral-based active ingredients.

Plaintiff Mike Xavier says he too bought the Coppertone Sports Face Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion and the Coppertone Kids Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion at a Target store in California and paid $8 on more than one occasion since 2017. According to the Coppertone class action, the kids sunscreen contains an equal amount of both chemical and mineral active ingredients. 

The plaintiffs claim that the “Mineral-Based” products in question include: Coppertone Water Babies Mineral-Based Sunscreen Stick, Coppertone Water Babies Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion (in various sizes); Coppertone Kids Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion; and Coppertone Sport Face Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion.

“Contrary to their labeling, the purported mineral-based sunscreen Products contain chemical active ingredients. In fact, the Products often contain a larger percentage of chemical active ingredients than mineral active ingredients,” the Coppertone class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs state that sunscreen products are either chemical-based or mineral-based. They allege that chemical-based sunscreens contain Octisalate, Octocrylene, and Octinoxate, while mineral-based sunscreens use ingredients such as zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide.

The Coppertone class action lawsuit claims that chemical active ingredients have been proven to have deleterious health effects such as endocrine disruption, skin irritation, and allergic reactions as the chemical active ingredients can be absorbed into the skin and could enter the bloodstream.

The plaintiffs also argue that Hawaii state lawmakers have banned two chemical sunscreen ingredients, Octinoxate and Oxybenzone.

“Consequently, because of concerns about chemical-based sunscreens, consumers have increasingly sought out mineral-based sunscreens, the sales of which have surged in recent years. This is particularly true among consumers of sunscreens intended for use on babies and children,” the Coppertone class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs claim that the defendants’ label states that their sunscreens are “Mineral-Based” and that the labels are “set against— and highlighted by—an eye-catching, polished-silver background or font color.”

In addition, the Coppertone class action states that a reasonable consumer would believe that the products only contain active mineral ingredients and not active synthetic chemical ingredients.

The plaintiffs say that in the Coppertone Water Babies Mineral-Based Sunscreen Stick Products and the Coppertone Sport Face Mineral-Based Sunscreen Lotion Products, the chemical active ingredients are made up of a larger percentage of the products than the mineral active ingredients.

“Labeling the Products as ‘Mineral-Based’ when they contain any chemical active ingredients is wholly misleading and deceptive. Worse, however, is Defendants’ practice of labeling the Products as ‘mineral-based’ where the percentage of mineral active ingredients is actually less than, or nearly equal to, the percentage of chemical active ingredients,” the Coppertone class action lawsuit states.

Do you use any mineral-based sunscreen products? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Shireen M. Clarkson, Ryan J. Clarkson and Celine Cohan of Clarkson Law Firm PC and Christopher D. Moon and Kevin O. Moon of Moon Law APC.

The Coppertone Sunscreen Class Action Lawsuit is Prescott, et al. v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., et al., Case No. 5:20-cv-00102, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

New Study Finds Sunscreen Chemicals Soak Into Bloodstream

Does Regions Bank Do FHA Loans?

Coppertone Lawsuit Says SPF 50 Sunscreen Doesn’t Work

Can You Get Cancer from Using Roundup?