Reef Safe Sunscreen – Protecting Our Marine Ecosystems
Summer is here and Body Glove Cruises is in full swing with our snorkel trips on Hawaiʻi Island. With perfect weather and intense sunshine, it’s important to protect your skin from the sun and those nasty sunburns. However, before packing the sunscreen, it’s important to understand what type of products are considered to be both effective and safe for ocean life. Even if you don’t plan to snorkel or swim near coral reefs, the sunscreen you choose still has an effect on our fragile marine ecosystems. Body Glove is proud to offer complimentary Reef Safe by Tropical Seas® Oxybenzone Free SPF 50 sunscreen on board our snorkel tours.
Today our coral reefs are experiencing the most profound coral bleaching ever recorded. Researchers say that some chemicals in sunscreen are one of the variables contributing to this tragic environmental effect. Picking the right sunscreen is important not only to protect against burns, but to conserve the planet’s delicate marine life.
Reef Safe products by Tropical Seas® are scientifically proven to have minimal impact on aquatic environments, as well as be safe for humans. Their products biodegrade in oceans, lakes and rivers and are non-toxic to marine life. Less than 3% of Reef Safe products come off your skin in 80 minutes of water activity and of the 3%, 99% biodegrades which is why Body Glove proudly offers their products to our customers.
At Body Glove, we feel it’s important to respect our environment and do our part in keeping our planet healthy. Reef Safe products shares our commitment to the environment by using renewable, sustainable resources and testing their products to globally recognized standards.. Reef Safe products are Gluten Free and do not contain animal by-products.
Choosing the right sunscreen can be overwhelming with all the available choices, and the need to protect your skin from harmful rays while also protecting our waters is also a concern. Stop by the Body Glove office and pick up some Reef Safe oxybenzone free sunscreen for your vacation so you can have peace of mind knowing your skin and environment will have the ultimate protection.
When shopping for sunscreen that are safe for ocean life, keep the following in mind to determine what is environmentally friendly and what is not.
1. Review to see what environmental testing your sunscreen of choice has performed.
2. 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 and waterfowl.
3. Avoid sunscreens with high content of Titanium Dioxide or Zinc Oxide – These are minerals used as an active sunscreens and do not biodegrade. They have been found to react in warm seawater to form hydrogen peroxide which is harmful to all sea life.
4. Oxybenzone is on the watch list. While further research needs to be conducted, we have elected to carry only Reef Safe’s Oxybenzone Free sunscreens.
Remember, corals are a vital part of ocean ecosystems as they support millions of other ocean species. They are also essential for communities who depend upon fishing for food and income. Corals are responsible for taming destructive waves before they reach shore, protecting the human population on land. It’s important we all work together to protect our planet and keep our oceans happy and healthy!
To learn more, check out the testing performed on Reef Safe formulas by Mote Marine Tropical
Laboratory. https://www.tropicalseas.com/