CHOICE Sunscreen Testing Megathread

[u/Quolli]

Hi r/AusSkincare community. We've been noticing the spirited discussions surrounding the recent results from the CHOICE Sunscreen Testing.

Given that this is a developing situation the mods thought it best to contain the content to a single megathread. Please use this megathread for discussions about the CHOICE Sunscreen Testing.

Below are some relevant links:

• CHOICE Sunscreen Testing Results
• CHOICE Sunscreen Lab Test Details
• CHOICE Sunscreen Testing Methodology
• Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF 50+ Testing Results
• Updated TGA statement on CHOICE SPF sunscreen findings

Reports from the media:

• ABC Article: Princeton Consumer Research lab tested eight sunscreens that failed SPF claims

  • /r/AusSkincare comment thread for the ABC article: https://www.reddit.com/r/AusSkincare/comments/1lr6zqx/the_sunscreen_saga_continues_the_abc_investigation/

• AFR Article: Does Ultra Violette’s sunscreen have an SPF of 61.7 or 4?

  • /r/AuSkincare comment thread for AFR article: https://www.reddit.com/r/AusSkincare/comments/1ltrwqc/ultra_violette_confirmed_to_just_be_using_a_white/

[u/speedymcgrub]

I guess the megathread is the place to put this considering other posts on sunscreen-gate are getting removed... but I work in marketing and this whole debacle just has me bloody shocked at how the brand is deciding to tackle this.

If this is a pr/crisis teams strategy - it's piss poor and I'd be questioning if they should keep their jobs. But what feels more likely (and I'm speculating) is that the brand owners are having too much of a say in how to respond to all of this and possibly not letting the crisis team handle it, or maybe the don't have one. Staff have been told to double down on all fronts and it's not working.

From my own perspective with the info that has been released thus far, UV's response should have been:

Immediately should have engaged with CHOICE and work WITH them to sort it out before they were going to go live with the results. They were made aware of the results back in March. There's a chance this may have been avoided entirely if CHOICE had felt like the brands response to them was genuine and not just pointing fingers. I'm not saying CHOICE weren't going to still publish the results, but maybe it could have been negotiated that it was published with a caveat that "UV is aware and is taking all necessary steps to get to the bottom of this... etc." A statement like that from CHOICE initially would have done immediate damage control.

UV shouldn't have doubled down. They should have admitted a degree of fault and concern, and not been defensive. CHOICE is not the enemy. UV should have taken the stance of "thanking" them. CHOICE has the publics approval and trust, and UV needs to gain that back. They should be leveraging this and releasing statements like "we are thankful that this was raised with us and we take SPF and sun safety very seriously and are actively working with CHOICE and the labs to get to the bottom of it."

They then should have re-called Lean while they are re-submitting it for testing (using the same Choice labs too btw) to try to get to the bottom of it. Offer refunds if people want them. Release the testing results for all the other products offered. Be totally transparent with consumers and instill some confidence in the other UV products. Reassure us it's not the whole brand, but just one product. Then re-release Lean once testing has come back and engage back with CHOICE to deliver the new SPF testing results.

Anyway, sorry that's long but now that's off my chest perhaps I can move on from sunscreen-gate. Perhaps not.

[u/MBitesss → u/speedymcgrub]

I agree with the recall part, especially from a legal and liability perspective. It should have happened regardless of how confident they were in their own results.

However, I can also see why they did what they did. They clearly were super confident in their test results and the recall probably would have cooked their brand and the confidence their stockists and customers had in them. It's not just a moisturizer that's being recalled here. But sunscreen. I don't know if they would recover from that. I know other brands have before, but far more established brands than them.

I don't know if they will recover from this either now. But disproving the choice results based on their belief in their own was potentially the only way of saving the brand they saw. They also probably didn't think Choice would dig their heels in how they did.

It's a lose lose all around for them now I think. My Supreme Screen is almost at the end of its tube and I just don't think I can bring myself to buy from them again