Coppertone class action alleges Pure & Simple sunscreen contains synthetic ingredients

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Coppertone Pure & Simple sunscreen class action overview:

• Who: A sunscreen customer sued Beiersdorf, the maker of Coppertone.
  Why: The consumer claims the company falsely advertises its Pure & Simple sunscreen because it contains chemically altered ingredients. 
• Where: The Coppertone class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division.

An Illinois consumer claims that Beiersdorf, the company behind the popular Coppertone brand, falsely advertises its Pure & Simple sunscreen.

Mark Ballotti filed the Coppertone class action lawsuit saying that he purchased the Coppertone Pure & Simple sunscreen because he believed that it was made with natural, unaltered ingredients. However, he claims that 17 of the sunscreen’s 24 ingredients are “significantly modified from their original state,” making them neither pure nor simple, according to the Coppertone class action.

Ballotti points to the active ingredient, zinc oxide, explaining that the natural form of zinc oxide occurs in the mineral zincite. However, zincite is not used commercially. Instead, zinc oxide used in Coppertone is made synthetically by oxidizing metallic zinc or zinc ores, the Coppertone class action states. 

Ballotti further claims that the active ingredient, along with many others, in the Pure & Simple sunscreen is not pure or simple, as it is created synthetically.

Coppertone class action claims sunscreen does not live up to ‘Pure & Simple’ claims

According to the Coppertone Pure & Simple class action lawsuit, Coppertone chose to advertise its product with words like “pure and simple” and “with nourishing botanicals” to entice consumers into purchasing the product. Allegedly, the company is well aware that customers often gravitate towards products containing natural and non-synthetic ingredients.

Ballotti explains that natural and non-synthetic ingredients are seen as healthier, better for the environment and higher quality than their synthetic counterparts. However, Coppertone sunscreen allegedly does not live up to these claims, as it contains synthetic ingredients, the lawsuit claims. 

Ballotti argues that Beiersdorf financially injured him and many other customers because had they known that the sunscreen was not really made with just pure and simple ingredients, they would not have purchased it or would not have paid as much as they had for it. Now, Ballotti attempts to gain compensation for himself and all similarly affected customers.

This Coppertone false advertising class action lawsuit comes on the heels of other litigation challenging Coppertone ingredients. Beiersdorf recently reached a settlement with customers who said that some Coppertoe sunscreen contains benzene, a human carcinogen. 

Do you look for natural products when shopping for sunscreen? Let us know in the comments!

Ballotti is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Coppertone Pure & Simple sunscreen class action lawsuit is Mark Ballotti et al. v. Beiersdorf Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-50408, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

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• Woman claims Neutrogena sunscreen caused her skin cancer
• Banana Boat sunscreen recall announced due to benzene contamination
• Coppertone class action alleges sunscreen for face falsely marketed