Class Action Alleges Amazon Fails to Warn About ‘Alarmingly High’ Levels of Heavy Metals in Sunscreens

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Amazon has failed to warn consumers that certain sunscreen products sold by the online retail giant contain, or risk containing, high levels of toxic heavy metals.

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The 122-page lawsuit says that although Amazon controls the content of the product listings for the sunscreen products at issue, the listings include no warning that the items—a number of which are intended for use by babies and children—are contaminated with “alarmingly high” levels of heavy metals, including poisonous neurotoxins like cadmium and lead.

“Nowhere on Amazon’s point-of-sale webpages does it disclose that the Sunscreen Products contain heavy metals, including cadmium and lead,” the complaint summarizes.

The spray, roll-on, stick and lotion products at issue in the Amazon sunscreen lawsuit include:

• -365 by Whole Foods Market Sport Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 30);
• -Sun Bum Baby Bum Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Banana Boat Simply Protect Baby Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Banana Boat Simply Protect Kids Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Blue Lizard Baby Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Blue Lizard Kids Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Coppertone Kids Tear Free Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Coppertone Pure & Simple Baby Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Coppertone Pure & Simple Kids Sunscreen (SPF 50);
• -Thinkbaby Baby Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 50); and
• -Thinkbaby Baby Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin (SPF 50).

According to the filing, it is well-recognized among health authorities that there is no safe level of human exposure to heavy metals like lead and cadmium. This is particularly true for infants and small children, who the suit stresses are more vulnerable to the negative health effects of heavy metals because their skin is thinner and more permeable, and their bodies lack “detoxification capacity” and absorb more lead than adults. Further, children are more likely to be exposed to lead due to their “innate curiosity” and “hand-to-mouth” method of exploring the world, which can result in heavy metal absorption through the skin and gastrointestinal tract, the suit says.

Repeated exposure to lead can cause an array of adverse health effects for babies and children, including anemia, brain and nervous system damage, decreased attention spans, hearing and speech problems, hyperactivity, academic and behavioral problems, lower intelligence quotient (IQ), slowed growth and developmental milestones, and underperformance in school, among others, the complaint states.

Moreover, the lawsuit says that cadmium is a neurotoxin and “probable human carcinogen” that can cause kidney, bone and heart damage.  The filing states that even in trace amounts, heavy metals like cadmium can “erode” children’s brains and nervous systems and lead to permanent intellectual and behavioral issues, with “profound” consequences for “the welfare and productivity of entire societies.”

The lawsuit shares that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in recognition of children’s vulnerability to heavy metals, issued a statement that growing bodies and brains are more susceptible to “troubling” adverse health effects, and that any source of heavy metals should be “avoided and minimized.”

According to the class action lawsuit, independent testing conducted by the plaintiff’s counsel and third-party consumer advocate Lead Safe Mama allegedly confirmed the presence of “undisclosed” heavy metals in the sunscreen products at issue in amounts that “far exceed” acceptable drinking-water limits as dictated by government authorities.

Testing found that Amazon sold sunscreen products containing undisclosed levels of cadmium as high as 1,235.4 parts per billion (ppb) and levels of lead up to 2,728.5 ppb, the filing says.

The TFCA restricts the presence of lead and lead compounds to one part per million, and the EPA and Food and Drug Administration agree that the maximum contaminant level of cadmium in drinking water should not exceed five ppb, while the World Health Organization’s cap on cadmium in drinking water is three ppb, the complaint states.

Per the case, adverse health effects associated with heavy metals are irreversible, as heavy metals bioaccumulate and remain in the body for years, to the point that “regular exposure to small amounts” still increases the risk of problems with the neurological, skeletal, reproductive, hematopoietic, renal and cardiovascular systems.  

The suit alleges that high levels of lead and cadmium found in the sunscreen products “contradict and impede” their primary function, as the heavy metals provide no sun protection. The suit says that it is possible to manufacture sunscreens with non-detectable levels of cadmium and lead, as evidenced by the existence of heavy metal-free sunscreens from competing brands.

The suit claims that Amazon deliberately chose to not warn of the presence of heavy metals—despite parents and caregivers having an understandable interest in the safety of products to be applied directly to their children’s skin—and instead “actively concealed” their presence in the sunscreen products, which allegedly allowed the company to reap “enormous” profits from the sale of the sunscreens.

The Amazon class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States who, from the beginning of the applicable statute of limitations period to the present, purchased any of the sunscreen products listed on this page from Amazon for household use and not for resale.

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