Earth Day: Sunscreens and the environment

Did you know that 5,000 tons of sunscreen wash off people in oceans annually? And that up to 10 percent of the world's coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching? Italian marine biologists have linked four UV-blocking chemicals (butyl paraben, octyl methoxy cinnamate (octinoxate), benzophenone-3 and methyl benzylidene camphor) in sunscreens to coral bleaching because they cause viral infections in the symbiotic algae that live inside reef-building coral. other common sunscreen ingredients Octocrylene, octyl salicylate (octisalate) and avobenzone were shown no bleaching effect on corals. There are tons on reef safe suncreens that do not contain the offending ingredients, such as Beyond Coastal, Alba Mineral, Caribbean Solutions, Aqua Sport and Kiss My Face. Mostly, they are made with Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide