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Eco friendly sunscreen

Posted on by lieke van hulsbergen

Eco friendly sunscreen


Our origin is Bali, an idyllic place for many tourists because of its beautiful culture, temperature but above all the white beaches with clear blue water. You can do fantastic surfing, diving and snorkeling among the turtles, manta rays and thousands of beautiful fish and corals. But this great place also has its downside, there are no masses of fish but masses of plastic swimming in the oceans and seas. At TET. We are committed to preserve our oceans by transforming the dirt into a long-lasting product. Of course you can also contribute by separating plastic, taking a bag with you when shopping or buying plastic free products. But did you know that you can also do something about this growing problem while on vacation? Hint; it has something to do with eco friendly sunscreen 😉

Our oceans

In addition to huge pollution, climate change, overfishing and agricultural toxins are also a major threat to our oceans and seas. But did you know that even with sunscreen, you can also affect our oceans and seas? There are many chemicals in a lot sunscreens, including oxybenzone, this is a toxic substance to coral because it absorbs UV rays. That’s why a good eco friendly sunscreen is so important.

What happens if you don’t use eco friendly sunscreen?

It actually works the same as with your own skin, sunscreen provides an extra layer on you which prevents you from being directly exposed to UV light. Sunscreen with oxybenzone does this not only on your skin but also on the coral, but there it does not protect, but causes coral to fade and eventually die. Even if you don’t go swimming after applying the sunscreen, it can still end up in the water when you take a shower. Approximately 14,000 tons of sunscreen end up in our oceans each year. (National Geographic).

The function of coral

Coral reefs cover about 0.2% of the Earth’s surface but account for 25% of all ocean life. It maintains a hugely important ecosystem, this in conjunction with zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae need carbon dioxide which the coral gives up to convert light into nutrients and color (photosynthesis). Coral also reduces erosion, it houses many fish for food but fish also lay their eggs here. Medicines are often produced to a large extent through the use of coral. Coral therefore has many important functions to keep the ecosystem working.

What can you buy next summer to be nicer to the ocean and your bikini?

Not wearing sunscreen is not an option, because your skin needs to be well protected from UV radiation. But what you can do, when searching for a good eco friendly sunscreen, is to look for mineral sunscreens containing titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, sunscreens without nanoparticles or to buy a biodegradable sunscreen. And be especially careful that it does not contain these substances: Oxybenzone (benzophen -3, bp-3) octyl methoxycinnamate (octioxate) and PABA.

Below we have listed a few eco friendly sunscreen brands for you that are animal friendly, vegan and plastic free:

Save the ocean together!