With the ink scarcely dry on one settlement, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has netted a $350,000 civil lawsuit win against Supergoop. The company was reprimanded for falsely marketing its chemical sunscreens as "reef friendly" and "reef safe." As the guardian of consumer interests, the DA's pursuit seems relentless, recently having secured a similar agreement with Sun Bum.
According to a release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, the narrative of "reef safe" sunscreen began its mainstream thread after Hawaii's 2018 legislation, which banned two notoriously harmful chemicals. It seems almost poetic justice that, caught in the current scope of the DA, Supergoop is paying a penalty for weaving a tale that did not hold water under scrutiny.
The environmental impact of certain sunscreen chemicals has long been a topic steeped in research studies and articles, revealing the toxic effects on marine ecosystems. District Attorney Jeff Rosen, crystallizing the issue, said, per the District Attorney’s Office, "We are keeping a close watch on the industry to protect consumers from getting burned by false and misleading advertising."
The stipulations of the Santa Clara County Superior Court settlement, filed last Tuesday, are clear in their intent and prohibit Supergoop from labeling its products with terms like "reef friendly" or "reef safe," or accompanying them with images of coral reefs. This accords a substantial $350,000 civil penalty and casts a shadow on similar marketing strategies adopted industry-wide. Having laid bare such misleading claims, the DA's Office has shown it isn't afraid to delve into murky waters, prosecuting other sunscreen makers like the manufacturers of Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic for comparable advertising language in a case filed on March 24 and yet to reach a verdict.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct a misspelled word.
