The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Privity Pty Ltd (trading as Haircare Australia) for representing that the hair straightening product ‘Brazilian Blowout’ did not contain formaldehyde. Independent testing found formaldehyde levels to be 50 times greater than the safe limit.
"Formaldehyde is known to cause sensory irritation, skin sensitisation and can cause cancer in circumstances where there is chronic high exposure," ACCC deputy chair Peter Kell said.
“Australian Consumer Law requires accurate labelling on these products so that consumers and businesses can make informed choices. These misrepresentations may have seen numerous people unknowingly exposed to potentially harmful chemicals”
Haircare Australia represented Brazilian Blowout as “formaldehyde free” on the product’s bottle and in marketing materials distributed to hair salons. The product was distributed to a number of Australian hair salons from 17 September 2010 until it was voluntarily recalled on 3 December 2010 after the ACCC raised concerns.
Independent testing revealed that Brazilian Blowout contained formaldehyde levels of 100,000mg/kg (10%). These levels exceed the 2,000mg/kg (0.2%) safe limit for free formaldehyde in cosmetics. The product also failed to display the mandatory warning required for cosmetics that contain more than 500mg/kg (0.05%) of free formaldehyde.
Haircare Australia has acknowledged that its representations are likely to have misled consumers and has provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC that it will:
- not make false or misleading representations about the contents or ingredients of products that it sells or supplies;
- ensure all brochures and other marketing materials comply with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law; and
- establish and implement a compliance program.