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Oxybenzone and octinoxate are two ingredients believed to contribute to coral bleaching. When coral bleaches, it is not dead, but under significant stress and subject to increased mortality levels. According to the National Park Service, 14,000 tons of sunscreen enter coral reefs every year. These now banned chemicals are believed to be one of the contributing factors to the coral reef destruction. Most popular sunscreen brands are known to contain these dangerous chemicals. These brands include Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat, to name a few. However, we are starting to see a trend of these big brands creating new, less toxic sunscreen lines such as Banana Boat’s Simply Protect which is made without oxybenzone & parabens.

Choosing the right sunscreen is important not only to protect skin from burns and cancer, but also to preserve our oceans and marine life. Selecting a sunscreen that is both effective and reef safe can be overwhelming.

AVOID THESE CHEMICALS

• 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.
• Avoid sunscreens with high content of Titanium Dioxide. This mineral does not biodegrade and is found to react in warm seawater to form hydrogen peroxide which is harmful to all sea life.
• Oxybenzone and octinoxate, the two chemicals recently banned in Hawaii and are believed to cause coral bleaching.