Banana Boat Sunscreen Falsely Labeled as SPF 50, Class Action Claims

A new class action lawsuit alleges Banana Boat sunscreen is falsely labeled as having greater SPF protection than it actually provides causing consumers to overpay.

Lead plaintiffs say that the SPF is falsely advertised at level 50 or 50+ on Banana Boat lotion and spray sunscreens for kids and babies.

The Banana Boat sunscreen class action claims that tests show that the protection provided is actually much less.

“Plaintiffs are some of the hundreds of thousands of consumers who have purchased the Products for use on their children based on the advertised SPF number,” alleges the Banana Boat class action lawsuit. “Consumers, like Plaintiffs, reasonably expect that a sunscreen bottle labeled ‘SPF 50’ or ‘SPF 50+’ will actually contain a sunscreen with a true SPF of ‘50,’ and not a significantly lower amount of protection.”

The allegedly falsely labeled products include Banana Boat Kids Tear-Free Sting-Free Continuous Spray Sunscreen, Banana Boat Baby Tear-Free Sting-Free Continuous Spray Sunscreen, and Banana Boat Baby Tear-Free Sting-Free Lotion Sunscreen. The plaintiffs say that they can be purchased at Walgreens, Shoprite, Rite-Aid, CVS, T.J. Maxx, and Target, as well as other locations.

The Banana Boat sunscreen class action lawsuit claims that the makers of the sunblock are trying to capitalize on recommendations that consumers, especially those with children, use a protection of SPF 30 or higher. SPF 50 is even better, according to the Banana Boat class action lawsuit, because it allows users to stay out of the sun 50 times longer without getting burned.

However, alleges the Banana Boat sunscreen class action lawsuit, a Consumer Reports independent test showed that the Banana Boat products only offered an SPF of 8. The plaintiffs say they also did their own testing that corroborated the Consumer Reports test, finding that the purportedly SPF 50 or 50+ sunscreens only offered an SPF of approximately 30.

In addition to unfairly charging more for the product, the SPF false advertising also presents a risk to consumers, according to the Banana Boat SPF class action.

“Had Plaintiffs known that the actual SPF ratings of the Products were substantially lower than what Defendants stated on the product labels, Plaintiffs would not have purchased the product or would not have paid as much for the product,” alleges the Banana Boat SPF sunscreen class action lawsuit.

Additionally, claim the plaintiffs, the makers of the Banana Boat products, Edgewell Personal Care, Playtex, and Sun Pharmaceuticals, tested the product before selling it so they must have known that their labels were falsely advertising the SPF protection.

“Indeed, Defendants did testing on the Products prior to them being offered for sale and, of necessity, such testing would have made Defendants aware that the Products do not have an SPF rating of 50,” alleges the Banana Boat sunscreen class action lawsuit. “Despite this, Defendants purposely claimed an SPF factor of 50 or ‘50+’ in order to induce the false belief in consumers that they were purchasing a product which provided a high level of SPF.”

The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased the Banana Boat products advertised at SPF 50 or 50+, as well as subclasses of residents of New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, and California.

They are seeking damages on behalf of themselves and others who purchased the Banana Boat products since March 2, 2014.

The plaintiffs are represented by Carl V. Malmstrom, Theodore B. Bell, and Janine Lee Pollack of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC, Stephen P. DeNittis, Joseph A. Osefchen, and Shane T. Prince of DeNittis Osefchien Prince PC, Frederic S. Fox, Laurence D. King, and Mario M. Choi of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, Hunter Jay Shkolnik, Paul Brian Maslo, Salvatore C. Badala of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, Marc A. Wites of Wites Law Firm, Joseph G. Sauder and Matthew D. Schelkopf of Sauder Schelkopf, Brittany Weiner of Imbesi Law PC, and Justin Farahi and Raymond Collins of Farahi Law Firm APC.

The Banana Boat Mislabeled Sunscreen SPF Class Action Lawsuit is Anglin, et al. v. Edgewell Personal Care Company, et al., Case No. 4:18-cv-00639, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: The Banana Boat Mislabeled Sunscreen SPF Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on April 22, 2019. Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if a new case is filed.