Safe Sunscreen for our Coral Reefs
Shannon McNeese Oct 17, 2019
With much talk and concern surrounding global warming and our precious reef systems, you might wonder what steps you can take to help. The problem is large and multi-faceted, but there is one very simple step EVERYONE can take to help promote the health of our coral reefs. Wanna know what it is? Sunscreen choice!
Beginning January 1, 2021, Hawaii will become the first state to ban the sale of sunscreens with chemicals believed to harm coral reefs. Scientists have found that 2 common ingredients, oxybenzone and octinoxate, contribute to coral bleaching. Hawaii is already taking great measures to educate the public, remove harmful sunscreens, and encourage happy reefs; handmade signs welcome beachgoers, resorts offer reef-safe sunscreen, and Hawaiian airlines even features in-flight sunscreen announcements.
So the question now becomes; what sunscreen should you use? There are a LOT of choices out there! Look for mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. They must be “non-nano” in size to be considered reef safe, meaning the particle size is large enough not to penetrate the coral.
Here are a few reputable choices that we know and have used:
