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After testing 13 facial sun creams labeled SPF 50 or 50+ and noting “that a third of these products do not provide the level of protection displayed”, the UFC-Que Choisir appealed to the authorities so that they could sanction the brands concerned.
“In view of the high proportion of potentially misleading labeling, UFC-Que Choisir calls on manufacturers to make their products conform to the displayed indices or, failing that, to withdraw them and reserves the right to take any useful legal action.“, according to a press release published Tuesday.
UFC-Que Choisir denounces broken promises
The association also refers the matter to the General Directorate for Competition and Fraud Control (DGCCRF).”so that it sanctions brands marketing such products, steps up controls on sun protection products and takes measures to put an end to these practices“.
The 50 and 50+ indices of sun creams, “are believed to provide the highest levels of protection from ultraviolet rays“, specifies UFC-Que Choisir, whose tests show that “of the 13 creams tested, 5 do not meet the expected levels of sun protection“.
50 indices which are ultimately only 30 indices
“Four of them only achieve protection corresponding to an index 30“, according to the association, which emphasizes that “it is rare” that it observes “such a proportion of failures, and that they come from brands as well anchored in the landscape as Vichy, Biotherm or Lancaster“. The two other brands affected are Isdin and Rituals.
Furthermore, the association “urges the Ministry of the Environment on the need to regulate environmental claims for cosmetic products“.
Compounds often harmful to the marine ecosystem
Because, if the vast majority of products tested are “free of compounds undesirable for human health, a large proportion on the other hand (10 out of 13) receives a poor environmental rating due to the presence of components having harmful effects on aquatic organisms“.
Finally, the UFC-Que Choisir highlights the “stratospheric prices” of facial sunscreens, “even for brands that are usually not very greedy like Nivea and Yves Rocher“. Within the same brand, the prices per liter of facial sunscreens are at least twice as expensive as body sunscreens, most often three or four times more expensive and even up to seven times more expensive. more expensive for “Yves Rocher, who argues that it is also an anti-aging cream“, according to the association.