Oxybenzone damages coral DNA, leading to coral deformation, abnormalities, and coral bleaching. Reef-safe sunscreen is the term used to describe sunscreens that don't contain the UV blocking chemicals, oxybenzone and octinoxate.
What exactly is reef-safe sunscreen? Let’s take a closer look.
#Hawaiian reef safe sunscreen full
This law came into full effect in Hawaii in January 2021, banning over 3,500 sunscreen products and making it only possible to buy reef-safe sunscreens on the island. In fact, sunscreen pollution in our waters has reached such heights that popular vacation spots like Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Virgin Islands, the Florida Keys, and Hawaii have banned sunscreens containing chemicals that harm the environment. The environmental risks caused by sunscreen have prompted several sunscreen manufacturers to produce their own reef-safe formulas. – Craig Downs, Ph.D., Executive director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory It’s also a major factor in decreased water quality,” “Sunscreen pollution is a real phenomenon and it poses a threat to coral reefs and aquatic life. This influx of chemicals from sunscreen, together with overfishing and pollution, has led to a serious decline in the overall conditions of the world's oceans. The chemicals found in conventional sunscreens are leaking into reefs and contributing to the decline of coral reefs in our waters.
Others estimate as much as 14,000 tons of sunscreen ends up in the world's coral reefs every year, negatively impacting the ecosystem.
It’s super water-resistant (it can even be applied underwater!), 100% made in the USA, and packaged using recycled and recyclable materials.An estimated 6,000 tons of sunscreen finds its way in and around ocean reefs each year, according to The National Park Service. The active ingredient in Raw Elements is non-nano zinc oxide (easy to pronounce!) and it contains other skin-conditioning all-natural ingredients like vitamins and extracts. We got to researching for a product that’s gentle on humans and gentle on reefs and found Raw Elements, a mineral sunscreen brand created by an ocean lifeguard. Yay for Hawaii! It was a step in the right direction but unfortunately, those two chemicals aren’t the only offenders, and the law doesn’t apply (pun intended) to sunscreens that our visitors bring with them from out of state.īecause we’re committed to taking care of the natural resources that, you know, make our entire business possible, and because we know that education is the first step in changing people’s behaviors, we decided to stock all of our Holo Holo Kauai boat tours and Niihau boat tours with a truly reef-safe sunscreen, for our customers and employees alike. state to ban the sale of sunscreens containing those two common chemicals, oxybenzone, and octinoxate. In July 2018, Hawaii became the first U.S. These consequences were never intended, nevertheless, they couldn’t be ignored. Other studies have found chemical sunscreen ingredients to be harmful to other marine life including fish, shrimp, and sea urchins and, not surprisingly, to humans ourselves. This bolstered the findings of a 2008 study by Italian scientists and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, which found that commonly used sunscreen ingredients, including (but not limited to) oxybenzone, caused coral bleaching in reefs across the globe, including in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean-even at low concentrations. In a 2016 study by authors from NOAA and other institutions, it was shown that baby coral exposed to oxybenzone and octinoxate (two of the most common chemical sunscreen compounds) exhibited signs of distress, including coral bleaching-a condition that leaves coral vulnerable to infection and prevents it from getting the nutrients it needs to survive-as well as DNA damage, and abnormalities in their growth and skeleton. In the last fifteen years, scientific research has made it clear that the chemical sunscreens humans have been using are having serious negative consequences on the world’s coral reef, and the damage is especially pronounced where reefs are frequently visited, such as in Hawaii. In addition to providing nesting grounds and homes for thousands of species, they also help stabilize the ocean floor, prevent coastal erosion, minimize storm surge damage, contribute to the mitigation of climate change, filter and clean seawater, and support tourism. « Click here to return to Holo Holo Charters BlogĬoral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet and their survival is inextricably linked to our own.
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