Reef safe
Coral reef sunscreens are environmentally friendly - we give you the low down
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
How can you tell if a sunscreen is safe for coral reefs?
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS Look at the active and
inactive ingredients. Do not use a sunscreen that contains oxybenzone.
JUDGE FOR YOURSELF Reef Safe claims on labels are unregulated, therefore
potentially meaningless. Read the ingredients carefully and make your own decision.
REEF SAFE AND MINERAL SUNSCREENS
Yes, we all know that sunscreen is important and slapping on the SPF is the best thing you can do to protect yourself while working during the summer season, but here’s the thing: The sunscreen that protects your skin can also be damaging our oceans. In fact over 14,000 tons of the stuff ends up in our oceans each year and we know this is having a drastic affect on coral and sea life in general.
Four common sunscreen ingredients were shown to kill or bleach coral at extremely low concentrations (as low as one drop in 6.5 Olympic sized swimming pools).
OXYBENZONE (BENZOPHENONE-3, BP-3) Ingredient that disrupts coral reproduction, causes bleaching, and damages coral DNA. Found in over 3500 sunscreens
MINERAL SUNSCREENS
Most mineral sunscreens are made with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, usually in the form of nanoparticles.
There is good evidence that little if any zinc or titanium particles penetrate the skin to reach living tissues. However, it is important that manufacturers use forms of minerals that are coated with inert chemicals to reduce photoactivity. If they don’t, users could suffer skin damage. To date, no such problems have been reported.
The benefit of using mineral sunscreen is that not only do you end up with a more natural product, it’s usually suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. However,
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a common complaint about mineral sunscreens for the face is the white cast they often leave behind making you look like some Aussie lifeguard from the 80’s.
Check the label for titanium dioxide and/ or zinc oxide, and keep an eye out for other ingredients ending in -ate and -zone; that may be a sign you’re actually holding a chemical sunscreen, not a mineral based product that is safer for our oceans.
If you can find it, a combination of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide is better because it will offer more complete sun protection than titanium dioxide alone. Zinc oxide by itself is an excellent protectant against the sun.
BUTYLPARABEN Preservative shown to cause coral bleaching.
OCTINOXATE (ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE) Ingredient shown to cause coral bleaching.
4-METHYLBENZYLIDENE CAMPHOR (4MBC) Ingredient shown to cause coral bleaching. Allowed in Europe and Canada, not in USA or Japan.
COVER UP
The above ingredients impact not only the coral, but more importantly the sealife that relies on it. While no sunscreen is proven to be reef-friendly, mineral sunscreens are formulated with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which have not yet been found to harm corals, according to the research scientists. These physically block the sun’s rays.
Use common sense before reaching for a sunscreen. Cover
yourself with a hat and rash guard, and seek shade if you can.
BIODEGRADABLE
Use a sunscreen that has been tested biodegradable ensuring that the product will break down in the marine environment.
AVOID PETROLATUM Avoid sunscreens containing
petrolatum, commonly known as mineral oil, which takes years to biodegrade, and are known to be harmful or fatal to aquatic life.
TITANIUM Avoid sunscreens with high
content of Titanium Dioxide. This mineral does not biodegrade and is harmful to all sea life.
BANNED IN HAWAII
Look out for Oxybenzone and octinoxate, the two chemicals recently banned in Hawaii and that cause coral bleaching.
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