Sun Bum Sunscreens Contain Carcinogenic Benzene, Class Action Alleges [UPDATE: DISMISSED]

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A proposed class action alleges three Sun Bum products contain undisclosed benzene, a known human carcinogen said to be particularly hazardous when applied to the skin. 

The 27-page lawsuit in New York claims that although the labels of Sun Bum-brand Oxy Free Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50, After-Sun Cool Down Gel and After-Sun Cool Down Aloe Vera Spray disclose the products’ active and inactive ingredients, benzene has been intentionally omitted by defendants S.C. Johnson & Son and Sun Bum LLC. The complaint alleges the companies’ advertising and marketing for the Sun Bum products is thus “false, deceptive, and misleading” given consumers are not informed that the sunscreen and after-sun items contain the carcinogen. 

“Plaintiff and Class Members relied on Defendants’ misrepresentations and omissions of what is in the Products when they purchased them,” the lawsuit says. “Consequently, Plaintiff and Class Members lost the entire benefit of their bargain when what they received was a sunscreen product contaminated with a known carcinogen.” 

As the suit tells it, the Sun Bum products at issue “have no value” as items that contain benzene are “in no way safe for humans and entirely worthless.” The case is among the latest in a wave of proposed class actions centered on sunscreen products that allegedly contain undisclosed benzene. 

The lawsuit stresses that consumers lack the meaningful ability to independently verify whether a product contains unsafe substances, and therefore must rely on companies to truthfully and honestly report what’s inside the items they sell. Per the case, the packaging of the Sun Bum items at issue is “designed to appeal to health-conscious consumers,” and contains no warning about the inclusion, or even the potential inclusion, of benzene. 

According to the suit, benzene has been linked to health issues such as anemia, immune system damage and cancer, and poses a higher risk when applied directly to the skin. 

The lawsuit is among the latest to mention the recent Valisure study in which the online pharmacy found varying levels of benzene in a laundry list of sunscreen products. According to the suit, Valisure found that the Sun Bum products at issue “contained some of the highest benzene levels out of the 272 sunscreen and after-sun products tested.” 

The lawsuit relays that since the majority of the products tested by Valisure did not contain detectable levels of benzene, its use is not unavoidable in order for sunscreen to work as expected.

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers who purchased Sun Bum-brand Oxy Free Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50, After-Sun Cool Down Gel or After-Sun Cool Down Aloe Vera Spray anywhere in the United States during the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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