Between 2006 and 2008 the company sold spray products under its Axe brand that failed to meet the standards for deodorants and their VOC emissions in the state.
VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are compounds that when emitted interact with the energy of the sun and certain pollutants to create ozone, Dimitri Stanich from California’s Air Resources Bureau explained.
California's legislation is particularly strict for the compounds as geographical properties of the state mean that it suffers badly from smog, Stanich added.
VOCs are used as propellants, and according to Californian legislation different levels of VOCs are permitted in different classes of consumer products.
“Unilever was distributing products whose VOC levels exceeded those allowed under the state legislation,” Stanich told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
As a consequence, the company has been fined $1.3m which is payable in two equal parts to to the California Air Pollution Control Fund for projects and research to improve California’s air quality.
“The good news for California is that Unilever, after being made aware of the violation, took the steps necessary to correct the violation, mitigate the impacts, and ultimately reduce the emissions from this product,” ARB Enforcement Chief, James Ryden said in a statement.
Labeling issue
Explaining the steps that the company had taken on being made aware of the problem, a Unilever spokesperson referred to the issue as a labeling problem.
“A select group of Axe body sprays went on sale mislabeled as deodorants when in fact they are body sprays,” spokesperson for the company Anita Larsen explained.
As the VOC limits for body sprays and deodorants are different, this meant the products did not comply with the state legislation.
The company then launched a comprehensive relabeling programme, she added.