We tested them in our New York City lab, in everyday settings, and during sun-soaked getaways. There are a variety of reef-friendly sunscreens out there, so we thoroughly researched options that exclude chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate and found 26 options from trusted skincare brands. When you aren’t headed to the beach, using reef-safe sunscreen lessens the chance that you're sending damaging chemicals to water sources through your sink and shower drains. These products don't contribute to coral bleaching, and they're just as protective and nourishing as regular sunscreen, too. ![]() Cover yourself with a hat and shirt (or a rash guard in the water), and seek shade during peak sun hours.As more and more tropical destinations ban harmful chemicals often found in traditional sunscreen, like oxybenzone and octinoxate, one of the best ways to help preserve aquatic wildlife is to wear reef-safe sunscreen. This claim is under-regulated so you may need to contact the company to verify their claim. Use common sense before even reaching for a sunscreen. Water resistant claims are regulated by the FDA. Use a sunscreen that has been tested biodegradable ensuring that the product will break down in the marine environment. Use a water resistant sunscreen which will be more likely to stay on your skin and out of the water. The US National Park Service, PADI (the Professional Association of Underwater Instructors), and numerous eco-tour operators (including coral reef parks in Mexico) recommend that you avoid sunscreens with oxybenzone and use only mineral based sunscreens to help protect coral reefs. Do not use a sunscreen that contains oxybenzone, octinoxate or the other ingredients listed above that are shown to kill coral. Look at the active and inactive ingredients on your sunscreen label. You really have to look at the ingredients and judge for yourself. Reef Safe Sunscreen or Reef Friendly Sunscreen claims labels are unregulated and therefore potentially meaningless. These are safe for any environment or ecosystem. The inactive ingredients of our naturally water-resistant sunscreens are USDA organic plant oils, beeswax, vitamin E, and other ingredients that are sustainably sourced from plants, minerals, or are a product of fermentation. It is a powdered mineral that does not dissolve in seawater and because our zinc oxide is has a large particle size it rapidly settles to the seafloor and becomes part of the sediment. This has been used in skin care for thousands of years and is the same ingredient used in diaper creams, calamine lotion, and toothpastes. The only active ingredient in each of our sunscreens is the mineral zinc oxide, and we do not use nano sized zinc. Not only do we not use any of the harmful ingredients on the HEL LIST (see above) but we had two of our sunscreens tested by and they were found to be free of any of these ingredients earning us one of the very first Protect Land & Sea Certifications! Learn more from the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory. April 2008 Coral Reef Sunscreen Newsīadger sunscreens do not contain any of the ingredients shown to harm coral. Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting Viral Infections. Environmental Health Perspectives. Virgin Islands. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. ![]() Toxicopathological Effects of the Sunscreen UV Filter, Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3), on Coral Planulae and Cultured Primary Cells and Its Environmental Contamination in Hawaii and the U.S. Oxybenzone contamination from sunscreen pollution and its ecological threat to Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.A. Allowed in Europe and Canada, not in USA or Japan. 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) - Sunscreen ingredient shown to cause coral bleaching. Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate) - Sunscreen ingredient shown to cause coral bleaching. Butylparaben - Preservative ingredient shown to cause coral bleaching. ![]() Oxybenzone is found in over 3500 sunscreen products worldwide. Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3, BP-3) - Sunscreen ingredient that disrupts coral reproduction, causes coral bleaching, and damages coral DNA. 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). Up to 10% of the world's coral reefs may be threatened by certain chemicals found in most sunscreens. Even more sunscreen pollution can reach coastal areas via waste water discharges. Between 6,000 and 14,000 tons of sunscreen washes off swimmers, scuba divers, and snorkelers into coral reef environments each year.
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