Boots Healthcare identifies problem with sunscreen label
Published14 Feb 1997
Sunscreen manufacturer, Boots Healthcare, voluntarily came to the Commerce Commission because it was concerned about the labelling of one of its own sunscreens, Tripleguard SPF 50+.
Commission Chairman Dr Alan Bollard said that Tripleguard is sold under the Palmolive brand and the label states it conforms to the joint New Zealand and Australian sunscreen standard. However, the standard does not allow for SPF labelling higher than 15+.
"The Commission is satisfied that the product does provide a SPF of 50, but it was false to say that the product complied with the joint standard. This put Boots Healthcare at risk of breaching the Fair Trading Act," Dr Bollard said.
The Act prohibits false or misleading claims about goods or services.
Boots Healthcare came to the Commission following recent publicity that the Commission had started a prosecution against Johnson & Johnson (NZ) Ltd for allegedly making false claims that Sundown SPF 30 Broad Spectrum sunscreen retained its full SPF 30 sun protection after two hours immersion in water. Sundown SPF's sun protection reduces by nearly half after two hours in water.
The Sundown label also implied an endorsement by the Cancer Society of New Zealand. The Cancer Society had not endorsed the sunscreen.
The Commission withdrew the prosecution after receiving undertakings from Johnson and Johnson to refund and exchange its sunscreen.
"Publicity about Commission action is an important part of our education programme," Dr Bollard said, "and this is a good example of it working."
Dr Bollard congratulated Boots Healthcare for its responsible attitude to compliance with the Act.
"As a result of the publicity surrounding the Johnson & Johnson settlement, Boots Healthcare came to us to seek advice, and has reacted positively to our recommendations. It is very pleasing to see such a positive pro-active approach to compliance with the Act."
The Commission has no concerns about the quality or safety of Tripleguard SPF 50+. The only Fair Trading Act concern was a labelling issue - the sunscreen standard did not allow for labelling a sunscreen as SPF 50+ and so the labels could not claim the sunscreen meets the standard.
As part of a settlement with the Commission, Boots Healthcare has undertaken to remove from all existing and new stocks of Tripleguard SPF 50+ claims that it complies with the sunscreen standard.
