Jumping on a report that found many sunscreens overstate their protection factors, a Brooklyn, New York, parent has filed a class-action lawsuit against the makers of Banana Boat Sunscreen, saying he bought a bottle of kids lotion that was supposed to be SPF 50 but turned out to only have an SPF of 12.
“Defendants have known, or should have known, for years that Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 products contain less UV protection than Defendants advertise,” reads the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday against Playtex Products, Edgewell Personal Care Company and Sun Pharmaceutical.
Paul Lambrakis purchased the tube of Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 in May after a Consumer Reports study found that it and many other sunscreens were overstating their protection factor. He sent the tube to a laboratory in Winston Salem, N.C., to have tested, according to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court.
The results found that the bottle had an actual SPF that wasn’t even half as strong as advertised, court papers say.
“The investigation concluded that Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 sunscreen, clearly labeled as containing SPF 50, shockingly contained only an SPF of 12.69 and a measured UVA protection factor of 4.88,” the lawsuit reads.