Banana Boat Class Action Challenges ‘Natural’ Sunscreen Labeling

Banana Boat Natural Reflect sunscreens are mislabeled to hide the artificial ingredients they contain, according to a new class action.

Plaintiff Paige Hernandez says she purchased Banana Boat Natural Reflect sunscreens under the impression they were all natural, only to find out later they contained synthetic ingredients.

She accuses defendants Edgewell Personal Care LLC and Edgewell Personal Care Brands LLC of intentionally misleading consumers about the artificial ingredients in these sunscreens.

Products at issue in this Banana Boat class action lawsuit include Natural Reflect, Natural Reflect Baby, and Natural Reflect Kids sunscreens. The complaint includes photos of the products’ packaging that show the phrase “100% Naturally Sourced Sunscreens” on the front of their labels.

Despite the emphasis on naturalness, many ingredients in these Banana Boat sunscreens are ones that no reasonable consumer would consider “natural,” according to Hernandez. The products at issue allegedly contain dimethicone PEG-8 laurate, glyceryl stearate, methicone, PEG-8, lauryl PEG-8 dimethicone, tocopheryl acetate, dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, and caprylyl glycol, the Banana Boat class action states.

Some of these ingredients were the subject of a 2016 enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission, according to this Banana Boat class action lawsuit. Hernandez says the FTC filed complaints against cosmetics companies that used the term “natural” in the labeling of products that contained some of these ingredients.

Four of the companies stopped marketing their products as “natural,” says Hernandez.

With so many synthetic ingredients in their products, Hernandez argues, the defendant has no business promoting these Banana Boat sunscreens as “natural” or “naturally sourced.” She says she understood these representations to mean that the products contained no artificial or synthetic ingredients whatsoever.

Hernandez says she relied on that impression when she chose to buy Banana Boat Natural Reflect sunscreens on several occasions in 2014 and 2015. Had she known the products actually contain artificial ingredients, she claims, she never would have bought them.

“The phrases ‘Natural’ and ‘100% naturally sourced sunscreens’ are misleading to a reasonable consumer, because the Products actually contain artificial and synthetic ingredients,” the Banana Boat class action reads.

Hernandez says the defendants intended to deceive her and other consumers into paying more for these product than they would have otherwise. Companies know consumers are willing to pay more for products that are labeled “natural.”

Hernandez is proposing to represent a nationwide plaintiff Class covering all U.S. residents who purchased the Banana Boat products at issue for personal, family or household use and not for resale, at any time between Jan. 21, 2014 and the present. She also proposes a subclass to cover Class Members who reside in California.

She seeks an award of compensatory and punitive damages, restitution, court costs and attorneys’ fees, with prejudgment interest on all amounts awarded.

Hernandez is represented by attorney Reuben D. Nathan of Nathan & Associates APC.

The Banana Boat Natural Reflect Mislabeling Class Action Lawsuit is Hernandez v. Edgewell Personal Care LLC, et al., Case No. 5:18-cv-00128-DMG-KK, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: The Banana Boat Natural Reflect Mislabeling Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on June 21, 2018.  Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if a new case is filed.