Now In: Reef Safe & Biodegradable Sunscreen Information
Reef Safe & Biodegradable Sunscreen
Learn More About Sunscreens
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When you swim, some of the sunscreen you’ve applied to your skin washes off into the surrounding water. Recent scientific studies have shown that synthetic sunscreen ingredients like parabens, cinnamates, and benzophenones may cause damage to coral reefs and other marine organisms. Other studies show that these same ingredients may also be harmful to human health. Why do companies use these ingredients in their sunscreens? Because they're cheap and because the FDA allows them to. Badger would never use these, or any other harmful ingredient, in any of our products.
Are Badger's Sunscreens Biodegradable?
The answer is a cautious ‘Yes’, but a better question is, “Is Badger sunscreen safe for coral reefs and the environment?”, and the answer to that is an absolute ‘Yes’. Let us explain.
The active ingredient in our sunscreens is zinc oxide. This is a mineral that acts as a physical barrier protecting your skin from the sun. This mineral is considered to be the safest active sunscreen ingredient for human health and for the environment, but like all minerals it is not biodegradable. The few particles of zinc oxide that do wash off of your skin when you’re in the water will eventually settle to the sea floor, like silt, and become buried in the sediment. Zinc oxide has a low aquatic toxicity level and does not affect biological systems like chemical sunblocks do.
The base of our sunscreens (inactive ingredients that make up 80-88%) is entirely of USDA Certified Organic plant oils, extracts and beeswax. These are all biodegradable and safe for any environment. You could even eat this stuff! Look at our sunscreen ingredients and judge for yourself.
FYI here is a list of ingredients in Badger's SPF30 Sunscreen Face Stick (Zinc Oxide, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Beeswax, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Shea Butter, and Organic Rosemary Extract). That's it!
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| Elkhorn Coral in the BVIs. |
Are Badger's Sunscreens Allowed on Cruise Ships, Coral Reefs and Swim-With-Dolphin Parks?
Absolutely! All of our sunscreens are exactly the kind of biodegradable sunscreen that these eco-sensitive groups insist you have. They may read your sunscreen ingredients and they will only approve sunscreens whose active ingredients are either 'zinc oxide' or 'titanium dioxide'. The active ingredient in all of Badger's sunscreens is zinc oxide.
Bottom Line: Biodegradable Sunscreens:
Any sunscreen that claims to be 'Reef Safe' or ‘Biodegradable’ should only be using a mineral (zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide) as the active sunscreen ingredient and should only be using natural plant oils, butters and waxes (including beeswax) as inactive ingredeints.
Read more:
National Geographic’s article: “Swimmer’s Sunscreen Killing off Coral” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/82923650.html
Environmental Health Perspectives article: “Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting Viral Infections” http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/10966/10966.html
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