Consumer NZ, New Zealand’s Consumer watchdog, just came out with a shocking report that most sunscreens fail to meet SPF standards on their labels.
Following outrage over some Cancer Society sunscreens earlier this year, 10-person tests by the consumer watchdog have found five further sunscreens with a lower SPF (sun protection factor) than advertised.
Eco Tan Natural Coconut Sunscreen Untinted SPF30 only gave SPF12 in the test, Skinnies Kids Barefoot Babe SPF50 had an SPF of 25, and three more products – We Are Feel Good Inc. Sunscreen Lotion SPF50+, Le Tan Coconut Lotion SPF50+ and Cancer Society Kids Pure Low Irritant Sun Lotion SPF50+ – provided high protection, “but not the very high protection they claim”.
The chief executive of Consumer New Zealand, Sue Chetwin said the “disappointing” results followed an initial batch of testing where six out of 10 sunscreens failed to live up to their SPF claims.
Consumer NZ is testing four more sunscreens and results will be online at consumer.org.nz as soon as they are available.