Lawsuit accuses Wegmans of ‘false and misleading information’ about sunscreen

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Wegmans is facing a class action lawsuit, which alleges that its sunscreen is harmful to the environment.

According to the lawsuit, Wegman’s store brand sunscreen says on the bottle “Reef Conscious,” which means the product is safe for reef ecosystems. The bottle also says “Formula is compliant with Hawaii SB2571,” a law in Hawaii that bans the sale of products with oxybenzone or octinoxate.

The lawsuit says the sunscreen is listed as having “Avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, and octocrylene.” According to Snorkel Around the World, which is cited in the lawsuit, these are also considered dangerous ingredients for reefs.

The plaintiff, Monroe County resident Joelle Thomas, filed the lawsuit on behalf of other plaintiffs. They argue that Wegmans is creating false and misleading statements in regard to the sunscreen being environmentally safe. They are seeking monetary damages and awarding costs and expenses.

News 8 has reached out to Wegmans for a response to this lawsuit. They said they are looking into the lawsuit and will not comment at this time.