Recent Posts
Trying to save the planet is not easy. Human activity harms the environment in so many ways, it’s hard to know where to start.
But how about starting with something that affects your body?
Sunscreen can protect you from the sun, but if it’s laced with toxins, it can also cause you damage. And it causes a lot more damage to coral reefs. Reef-safe sunscreen changes that, taking out toxic chemicals (dubbed the Awful Eight by certain environmental brands) that harm us and our coral. In addition to watching out for other products that use these chemicals—like oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene, to name a few—you should look into making a switch to reef-safe sunscreen. If you’re looking for a place to start, here’s a list of reef-safe sunscreen brands to make your summer skin as safe as it can be.
Situated in California, Caroline Duell knew what it was like to get too much sun. Luckily, in 1997, she created a healing balm that led her to founding All Good, a company that creates organic, natural body products.
Like their slogan states, All Good’s variety of sunscreen options “makes everything better.” Whether you’re shopping for your kids, something with a high SPF or a product without fragrance, they have you covered. This gluten-free, oxybenzone-free and vegan sport sunscreen spray is available for $21.99!
Manda sun care products are more than eco-friendly. While Manda protects coral reefs, it also protects you from aging skin and inflammatory reactions. Introducing the ingredient Thanaka (a tree from Myanmar) along with its other natural ingredients, this sun paste has an SPF of 50.
While at $28, it may seem a little pricey, the high-quality sun protection and ingredients makes the price well worth it.
After Bill Whyte created a homemade lotion that healed his cracked hands, he founded his company Badger, whose name represents “a healing totem.” Well, the reefs certainly need this kind of healing. He and his family continued the company to make a variety of products, including this Badger sunscreen. For the cost of $16.99, it’s fragrance-free, reef-safe, non-GMO and gluten-free. And if you care about appearances, know that it turns from white to clear after application!
If you’re interested in its other products, Badger also has aftershave, bug balm and aloe vera.
With organic in their name, you can count on Poofy Organics to stay true to the Earth. Like Badger, Poofy is another family-run brand. When her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Kristina Gagliardi-Wilson founded the company “Poofy,” named after her daughter Mariah’s nickname.
So you can trust that Poofy Organics is suitable for all ages! Their main sun care product “THE Sunscreen” is reef-safe and kid-safe. Get it for $16.00!
This sunscreen from Pome Maui is all natural, plant-based, reef-friendly and baby-safe! If you’re looking for something with a nice smell to it, this is the product for you. Including lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils, Raw Love from Pome Maui sells for $16.99.
Interestingly, Pome Maui doesn’t only offer organic products. In fact, they center around surfing, so the next time you’re in Maui, Hawaii, stop by for some lessons!
With Hawaii approving a bill that bans toxic sunscreen chemicals, we’re looking to the start of a reef-safe future. In order to do that, we need these alternatives. While these products are a little more expensive, our coral reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate. We’ve lost at least eighty percent of coral reefs in the Caribbean, and half of all Great Barrier Reef coral has died since 2015. We can’t let these ecosystems go into extinction.
And with most of these products manufactured by small companies, we’re also directly supporting family-run businesses. Family-safe, skin-safe and reef-safe? Check, check and check.
