Senate Panel Votes to Ban Sunscreens with Toxic Chemicals

A Senate committee voted Monday to forward a bill banning two chemicals found in many sunscreens after a panel of witnesses, including chemists and divers, testified that the compounds contribute to the deterioration of coral reefs and have been linked to harmful side effects in humans. Cosmetic chemist Autumn Blum testifies Monday before the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Consumers and Affairs, describing the toxic chemicals found in most sunscreens.

What is a Real Reef-Safe Sunscreen

Environmental Conservation — SOURCES — The Journal of Underwater Education. First Quarter, 2019.  The article on reef friendly sunscreen starts on Page 90.

How to Know if Your Sunscreen is Killing Coral Reefs — and 11 Brands to Try Instead

The next time you take a dip in the warm waters of the Caribbean or Hawaii, think about this: you aren’t just swimming in seawater. There may also be as many as 82,000 kinds of chemicals from personal care products that have made their way into the world’s oceans, according to a report by Marine Life, a marine conservation NGO. 

A Single Drop of Sunscreen Can Kill Coral

At last, coral reefs are finally getting some significant protection. Hawaii and Bonaire have just
banned sunscreens containing the sun-blocking
chemical oxybenzone. Furthermore, 13 United
Nations World Heritage sites have banned sunscreen use onsite

Stream 2 Sea Sunscreen

One reason that I love this brand so much is because they are very eco-conscious and have made sure to be very reef safe -and even use sugar cane resin tubes! Their ingredients list contains several certified organic ingredients like green tea, tulsi, wakame seaweed, olive, and aloe. SPF 30 is the only product I’ve used of theirs, and even though it’s 10 more than their 20 SPF I find that it gives a matte finish -so it’s not greasy in any way! For a natural sunscreen that’s biodegradable, 80 min. water resistant, aquatic safe, and a healthier option overall I must applaud Stream 2 Sea. I love them, and I highly recommend this company! I even used this as makeup all over my face and I don’t mind it at all!

11 Reef-Safe Sunscreens We Love

So how can you do your part? The answer is pretty simple—know what to look for, and choose your sunscreen wisely. Stick to non-nano mineral sunscreens, and check for natural ingredients. To take out some of the legwork, we rounded up the best reef-safe sunscreens to buy before that trip to the beach.

News Channel 8 / wfla.com:
Eco-friendly sunscreens

8 on your side discusses eco-friendly sunscreens and interviews Stream2Sea’s Andrew Olday (National Sales Manager).

Glamour:
Hawaii’s Sunscreen Ban Doesn’t Hit Until 2021, but the Reason for It Is Scary

… In that respect, women in Hawaii agree that the bill is making them think twice about their sunscreen. Since the legislation came into the spotlight, Hawaii resident Emma Wo says that she’s gone through her medicine cabinet and tossed the sunscreens with controversial ingredients. Longtime Oahu resident Kathy Croman says she used to not be choosy about the sunscreen she used, but “when you grow up here and see the actual damage it’s causing, you become more aware.” It’s likewise struck Oahu newcomer Kait Hanson: “Before I moved to Hawaii, I used sunscreens with [oxybenzone and octinoxate] a lot. That was mostly due to being misinformed, unaware or trusting the labels of products.” After the conversation started around the ingredients, she says she switched to reef-safe sunscreens like Stream2Sea and Badger.

Vogue:
Is Your Sunscreen Bad for the Planet? Here’s How to Choose an Ocean-Safe Formula

Eco-conscious companies are taking matters into their own hands, formulating sunscreens and hydrating lotions that are (hopefully) less detrimental to the underwater environment. Among those aqua-warriors is Autumn Blum, a cosmetic chemist (and certified diver) who launched Stream2Sea, a line of biodegradable sunscreens as well as hair- and skin-care items. The idea, she says, came to her after a diving trip to Palau three years ago. “We were showering on deck, with fragrant suds running right overboard, putting leave-in conditioner in our hair, slathering on chemical-based sunscreens, then jumping back in the ocean to repeat the process,” she recalls. Simple habits like this can take a toll—it’s estimated that 14,000 tons of sunscreen lotions end up in coral reefs each year…

SELF Magazine – Why Hawaii Wants to Ban Oxybenzone Sunscreens

SELF Magazine recommends Steam2Sea as one of their choices for mineral-based sunscreen!  “The world’s coral reefs are already in danger—and scientists worry that all the sunscreen in the oceans is making the situation worse.  Fortunately, there are safer options… This titanium dioxide-based sunscreen is enriched with green tea and olive leaf.”

Conde Nast Traveler Looking for a reef safe sunscreen? Ask a surfer

Stream2Sea recommended in Conde Nast Traveler article! “Research shows that ingredients in some forms of popular sunblock, one called oxybenzone in particular, can lead to fatal coral reef bleaching. Some studies suggest one drop is enough to do damage. To understand the issue at hand, though, you have to first understand a bit about sunscreen in general—and how it has an impact on marine life… When it comes to the environment, the chemical ones are the problem. (Take Hawaii State Department’s signs that read: ‘If You Can’t Say It, Don’t Spray It.’) In Honolua Bay alone, some reports suggest oxybenzone exists at nearly 2,000 parts per trillion.”

Deeper Blue Read your sunscreen labels

“The scuba community is a great outlet for education and change,” Stream2Sea founder Autumn Blum remarks. “Divers are trained to train and they’re very vocal ocean advocates.” Autumn Blum has just been telling me about how useful divers are as vectors of environmental education. Autumn’s business philosophy is both pragmatic and conscientious, underwritten by a standard she calls the triple bottom line: every decision must be good for the product, good for people, and good for the planet.

Sources – NAUI Green Diver Initiative Eco-Conscious Divers Need to Choose Their Sunscreen Wisely

Divers greatly impact the waters in their choices of personal care products and particularly their sunscreens. Often they may think that as one person, their choice is just a drop in the bucket, but when it’s many people all making uninformed choices, it adds up. In the long run, the pristine, beautiful environment divers so deeply cherish is gravely affected.

Vitamin Retailer: July 2016

Vitamin Retailer recommends Stream2Sea sunscreen to their readers for a healthy choice in their summer care products and all year round. Eco-conscious & Biodegradable Skin Protection: Protect your body while preserving the ecosystems you love with this high performance mineral-based sunscreen. Florida-based Stream2Sea’s formula is ideal for the water lover and outdoor adventurer looking for a sunscreen that won’t rinse off or run into the eyes while sweating.

Better Nutrition: Best of Natural Beauty Award Winner for 2016

Better Nutrition’s Best of Beauty pics cut through the maze of natural beauty and personal-care products on store shelves with their guide to get-gorgeous creams, serums, cleansers, scrubs, shampoos, eye shadows, and much more!  “This is one smart sunscreen!”

Scuba Diving International: Some “good” diving practices can be fatal to coral reefs

As divers, we focus on good diving practices: we take care of our equipment, we practice good buoyancy control, we continue our training, and more. On the surface, we ensure we have good personal practices while we are exposed to the sun; we know we need to use sunscreen, and many believe the higher the SPF, the better.

Country 102.5: Earth Day 2016 Part II

While just 24 hours, Earth Day provides us the opportunity to showcase and celebrate the effort devoted and contributions made to our planet all 365 days a year by individuals and companies alike. One such company is Stream2Sea. We spoke to founder Autumn Blum about their earth-friendly products and devotion to the cause.

Alert Diver: Sunscreen Pollution

A SERIOUS AND INCREASINGLY CLEAR THREAT TO CORAL Fortunately, demand by concerned consumers is leading to increased availability of less harmful sunscreens.

Scuba Diver Life:  Top Four reef safe Sunscreens

It’s marine damage, caused by the seemingly harmless task of applying sunscreen, that was the inspiration for the creation of a number of less-damaging products…

BaySoundings:  Eckerd students push limits on aquatic toxicity research

Along with freshwater fish and coral larva, Eckerd students looked at the impact of shampoo ingredients on Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode that mimics life processes of more advanced species.

WFLA.com and News Channel 8: Eckerd College helps local company make sunscreen safe for marine life

Slathering on sunscreen before hitting the beach or the water is part of life here in Tampa Bay. What we may not know is that certain ingredients in sunscreen have been proven highly toxic to corals and marine life. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, even at low concentrations benzophenone-2, or BP-2, can quickly kill juvenile corals. This chemical has been used for decades to help protect against damaging effects of UV light. Aside from going into the surf wearing sunscreen, other body products containing BP-2 wash into waterways through bathroom wastewater and can bleach coral or even kill it.

Scuba Diver Life:  Top Five Reasons You Should Use Stream2Sea

Divers know our reefs are under threat, but you can help protect them (and yourself) every time you apply sunscreen by using Stream2Sea. Here are the top five reasons it should be your sunscreen go-to.

Cosmetic Design: Stream2Sea Sun Care Takes Safety Testing to the Extreme

Company founder Autumn Blum is overseeing meticulous product testing on delicate zebrafish and coral larvae “so that we can state, with complete confidence, that we are the safest product on the shelves,” she says. 

83 Degrees Media: Eckerd College alum launches eco-friendly sunscreen, cosmetics line

Each summer, boatloads of sunscreen are sold to beach-goers throughout the country. But where do the contents end up? Often, in the oceans. Studies have shown that the chemicals found in many sunscreens or skin care products that contain sunscreen can contaminate, and even kill coral reefs (some can also cause problems for humans).

Turtle Island Restoration Network Partners with Stream2Sea to Protect Marine Ecosystems
Recognizing that chemicals commonly found in sunscreens and personal care products can be dangerous in marine ecosystems, Turtle Island Restoration Network has partnered with Stream2Sea to develop an educational campaign for its members.

Stream2Sea Creates Tinted Sunscreen
With oxybenzone (and other benzophenones) increasingly implicated in the decline of the most popular coral reefs as well as human health, Stream2Sea Founder Autumn Blum has been quoted as saying that “white is the new green.” The white, of course, is non-nano titanium dioxide, the only sunscreen ingredient proven to be safe for fish, C. elegans and coral larva.

The newest version of the award-winning sunscreen now features a natural tint made with coral-safe minerals that reduces the whitening effect of the original product…

Stream2Sea Reef-Friendly Sunscreens Now Available in Boat-Sized Bottles
When people on a boat or a beach learn that Stream2Sea sunscreen doesn’t harm fish or coral, they automatically ask to try some. “Even though our formulas are highly concentrated, when sharing with others, it’s easy to quickly go through one of our tubes,” says Autumn Blum, founder and chief formulator for the only company offering a mineral-based sunscreen that has been tested and proven safe on various species including coral larvae…

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