In 2013, I was diving in Palau — one of the planet's most biodiverse coral ecosystems. It was the healthiest, most beautiful reef I'd ever seen. Then something happened that changed my entire world.

A group of snorkelers floated past, and I watched a slick of sunscreen come off their skin and disperse into the water. Not from malice. They were trying to protect themselves. They didn't know what I, as a cosmetic chemist with seventeen years in formulation, already understood: most sunscreens are built on ingredients that hurt the very ecosystems they protect.

I thought: we can do better than this.

That thought became Stream2Sea.

What Eleven Years of Doing Better Looks Like

The numbers tell a story that matters, because in conservation, evidence is everything.

29% coral growth. A peer-reviewed University of Derby trial tested our Coral Care sunscreen against the leading competitor on the same coral species over 16 weeks. The result wasn't just "less harm"—it was active benefit. Our formulation increased coral growth by 29%. This is the first independent evidence that a sunscreen can actually support coral health. Four species. Peer-reviewed. Real.

This led to something we're quietly proud of: the world's first Reef Protection Factor (RPF) certification, developed with the University of Derby and University of Bremen. Not a marketing claim. A measurable standard.

2 million. Since 2021, we've made over 2 million units of Reef-Safer™ sunscreen & skincare, every single one formulated to be safer for aquatic life.

The work is in the tube. But the work also means our ingredients stay in the water—not as pollutants, but as something the ocean can handle.

300 Wavemakers. 26,000 advocates. Eleven years ago, it was just the question. Now it's a movement. We've partnered with over 1,000 retail locations and 100+ tourism, cruise, dive, and NGO partners. But the real number that matters is the people who get it—the advocates who chose Reef-Safer™ sunscreen because they understood the choice mattered.

Three hundred creators. Twenty-six thousand email subscribers. All of you choosing better, one application at a time.

Why This Matters Beyond the Bottle

We talk about sunscreen because sunscreen is ubiquitous. 14,000 tons of it enter marine environments every year. That's not a fringe issue—it's a crisis hiding in plain sight on every beach, at every resort, in every vacation photo.

We talk about the Palau moment because it's where the problem became visible. But the solution had to work. It had to be formulated by someone who understood that "reef-safe" isn't a standard—it's a test result. It had to perform after swimming, because a sunscreen that washes off in the water isn't protecting anyone. It had to work for families, for divers, for people who just want to spend a day in the ocean without being part of the problem.

New approved sunscreen ingredients like Bemotrizinol come into the market, and they're often promising. But without marine toxicity testing, they're unknown. We're steadfast in that commitment: every ingredient in our products has been tested, peer-reviewed, and proven safe for the ecosystems they protect. That takes longer. It costs more. It's also what "reef-safer" actually means.

WetBoost™ technology delivers 47% better protection after swimming on our SPF 45 formulas. We use USDA Certified Biobased ingredients. Our packaging is made from ocean-bound plastic and post-consumer recycled materials. These aren't marketing flourishes. They're the chemistry of doing better.

An Eleven-Year Conversation

Eleven years is enough time to see change. To measure it. To know that the Palau moment wasn't a feeling—it was a diagnosis that led to a prescription.

We've shared this story in front of the Senate in the Virgin Islands. We've presented it to the National Academies of Science. We've published it in 821 different outlets, reaching 6.1 billion combined impressions. But the most important place we've shared it is in the water—with every diver, every snorkeler, every family protecting themselves the way Autumn knew was possible.

Well, none of this happens without you.

Here's to eleven years. Here's to the advocates, the Wavemakers, the partners, and everyone who looked at a sunscreen and asked: is there a better way.

There is.

Ready to join the movement. Shop the science. Our full Reef-Safer™ sunscreen collection is built on the evidence that protection and ocean health aren't opposites—they're the same choice.