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10 Brands Sunscreen to Try that Are Not Killing Coral Reefs

September 13, 2019
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We all use sunscreen to protect ourselves from the harmful ultraviolet rays. The pollution in the oceans is tragically killing coral reefs and destroying the homes of the marine life living there.

Hawaii passed a bill on May 1, 2018 that bans sale of sunscreens with dangerous chemicals to reefs? NOAA states sunscreens that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate are indeed harmful to coral reefs. EHP as well confirms that sunscreen chemicals may be causing coral bleaching.

According to a report by Marine Life, a marine conservation NGO, there over 82,000 kinds of chemicals from personal care products that have made their way into the world’s oceans.  And one of the most dangerous contributor is sunscreen. In 2015, it was estimated that around 14,000 tons of sunscreen are ending up in the world’s coral reefs and causing irreparable damage.

Scientists have conducted many types of research in the past decade investigating how the tons of sunscreen that wash off our bodies into the ocean each year affect marine life. According to their studies, chemical sunscreens threaten the entire marine ecosystem.

One of the common misconceptions we initially think of if we talk about biodegradable sunscreen is the bottle. We often think that these body products are contained and packed in a biodegradable container. No, it is not about the bottle, but rather, the sunscreen itself.

To help you find sunscreen that are reef safe we did extensive research on the internet and we come up with the following list that is eco-friendly sunscreen brands on the market in 2019.

Our top choices sunscreen are:

Table of Contents
  1. Thinksport SPF 50 Sunscreen
  2. Babo Botanicals SPF 30 Clear Zinc Lotion
  3. Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
  4. All Good SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen Lotion
  5. Badger SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen Cream
  6. Manda Organic SPF 50 Sun Paste
  7. Mama Kuleana Waterproof SPF 30 Reef-safe Sunscreen
  8. Stream2Sea SPF 30 Mineral Sunblock
  9. Raw Elements SPF 30 Certified Natural Sunscreen
  10. Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian SPF 50 Natural Zinc Sunscreen

Thinksport SPF 50 Sunscreen
Photo: Amazon

Thinksport SPF 50 Sunscreen

This sunscreen has an ideal score on EWG, and doesn’t contain any organically dangerous synthetic compounds. It is water-safe for up 80 minutes and is retained effortlessly by your skin.

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Babo Botanicals SPF 30 Clear Zinc Lotion
Photo: Amazon

Babo Botanicals SPF 30 Clear Zinc Lotion

The zinc recipe is sea safe and adequately shields your skin from sunburn. This sunscreen is additionally sulfate-, paraben-, phthalate-, aroma , and color free.

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Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
Photo: Amazon

Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen

This unscented and veggie lover sunscreen is ideal for individuals with touchy skin and children. It is free of parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, manufactured colors, sulfates, nanoparticles and substance UV safeguards, and contains natural green tea extricate, cucumber concentrate, and pomegranate seed oil.

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All Good SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen Lotion
Photo: Amazon

All Good SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen Lotion

This non-nano zinc oxide-based sunscreen has a lightweight water-safe recipe and is wealthy in natural green tea, rose hips, and buriti oil for repairing harmed skin. Ensure your skin is very much saturated before applying.

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Badger SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen Cream
Photo: Amazon

Badger SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen Cream

This sunscreen is water-and sweat-safe for up to 40 minutes and contains saturating fixings like sunflower oil, beeswax, seabuckthorn, and Vitamin E.

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Manda Organic SPF 50 Sun Paste
Photo: Amazon

Manda Organic SPF 50 Sun Paste

This sunscreen has a thick glue consistency, which enables it to remain on your skin for a significant lot of time even after you’ve been in the water. It contains thanaka oil, or, in other words cancer prevention agents, is hostile to parasitic, against bacterial and has hostile to maturing properties. The catch? It gives you a tad of a white tint as opposed to rubbing into the skin.

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Mama Kuleana Waterproof SPF 30 Reef-safe Sunscreen
Photo: Amazon

Mama Kuleana Waterproof SPF 30 Reef-safe Sunscreen

This Maui-based organization strives to guarantee that its items, together with the bundling, are alright for the earth. Their sunscreen contains a great deal of natural fixings like coconut oil, almond oil, and shea butter.

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Stream2Sea SPF 30 Mineral Sunblock
Photo: Amazon

Stream2Sea SPF 30 Mineral Sunblock

Protect your skin and marine existence with this mineral-based sunscreen that contains a ground-breaking cancer prevention agent mix of green tea, tulsi, wakame, and olive leaf. Its dynamic fixing is non-nano titanium dioxide.

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Raw Elements SPF 30 Certified Natural Sunscreen
Photo: Amazon

Raw Elements SPF 30 Certified Natural Sunscreen

The dynamic fixing in this sunscreen is non-nano zinc oxide. It is biodegradable, reef safe, and water-safe for up to 80 minutes.

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Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian SPF 50 Natural Zinc Sunscreen
Photo: Amazon

Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian SPF 50 Natural Zinc Sunscreen

This zinc-based sunscreen is improved with nearby Hawaiian spirulina, plumeria remove, nectar, kukui nut oil and other feeding oils that dampness and alleviate the skin.

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Remember to double check the sunscreen ingredients and the label – each of our decisions matter to save the coral reefs!

Still not convince about choosing carefully your sunscreen for your next trip? Check our post about 5 Things to Know About the Sunscreen and How to Protect the Coral Reef.

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Related Posts
San Blas Islands Panama

San Blas Panama – Essential Things to Know Before Visiting

January 7, 2020
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The San Blas Islands of Panama is located north coast of the Isthmus of Panama and east of the Panama Canal. The islands are an archipelago with approximately 365 islands and cays. Only 49 of them are inhabited.
San Blas and its surrounding area is a haven for ecotourism because of its pristine environs. It’s a popular area for sailing, and it is known for its lack of hurricanes and for its beauty. Most popular locations in the Archipelago are Cayos Limones and Cayos Holandeses, the main capital El Porvenir, and the island village of Carti Sugtupu.

The San Blas Islands are the number #1 vacation destination in Panama. In 2011 the islands were renamed to Guna Yala, but it is still more popular by its old name. Its capital is El Porvenir. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the south by the Darién Province and Emberá-Wounaan, on the east by Colombia,

Kuna Yala
Photo credit: Ben Kucinski / Flickr

How to get to San Blas

You have limited options to get to San Blas. You can either take a flight from Panama straight into the San Blas Islands, by helicopter or take a speedboat from Capurganá, or a sailing boat from Cartagena.

By helicopter is the most expensive but also safe and reliable way to access the corners of the archipelago.

Air Panama services Achutupu, Corazon de Jesus (Rio Diablo/Nargana), Mulatupo and Playon Chico.

The best way to get around in the San Blas area is by boat, you can visit different islands within the hour and enjoy the calm clear sea.

San Blas marine life
Photo credit: Juan Cristobal Zulueta / Flickr

Explore the colorful reef and plenty of sea life

Scuba diving is not allowed in the waters around the San Blas Islands, you can only see the sea life by snorkelling.
A snorkeling adventure will show you hundreds of colors underwater of San Blas Islands.

You will find lots of sharks, stingrays, zebrafish, starfish, squid, flying fish, jellyfish, crabs, lobsters, dolphins all around.

San Blas
Photo credit: Ben Kucinski / Flickr

Ecolodge

You can find many eco-lodges from the local Guna people with perfect place to relax in a hammock, enjoy the sea breeze and the sound of the waves and birds.
Most of them are on uninhabited islands and feature plush sand beaches, hammocks, and offers rustic rooms built out of bamboo and board. There are a few hotels like the Coral Lodge, that offers a pool, bar & restaurant, amenities and AC rooms.

Kuna Yala
Photo credit: Ben Kucinski / Flickr

Hiking in the rainforest

One of the most famous islands in San Blas is Dog Island also known as Isla Perro in Panama. The Island was created when the waters of the Chagres River were dammed by the Gatun Dam to create the Gatun lake.
Isla Pelicano is another small island with a great beach and clear turquoise water. There is not a better place to do snorkeling in San Blas than there. There are no mosquitoes here and the wind is warm and the beach is clean.

Panama declared the islands as a national marine park, the largest of Central America and a year later UNESCO declared Coiba national marine park a World Heritage Site. The national park is home to the second-largest coral reef in the eastern Pacific, at Bahía Damas, and colorful fish, sharks, dolphins, manta rays, tuna, turtles and other marine species.

The rainforest is home to at least 36 species of mammals, including the endemic Coiba howler monkey, 39 species of reptiles, including saltwater crocodiles, over 147 species of birds with around 19 endemic subspecies. Coiba an unparalleled destination for discovering new species as in some of the San Blas Islands, you can find animals that are unknown to science.

Kuna culture
Photo credit: Rita Willaert / Flickr

Get to know the local culture

The native people living on the San Blas islands are the Kuna Indians. They are a wonderful example of how indigenous people continue to flourish and practice their age old customs surrounded by the modern world. The Kuna Indians are very friendly with the tourists.

Not many of Kuna speak any English – it helps if you know some basic Spanish. There are only 50.000 live on the San Blas Islands.

Featured image photo credit: Alexander Schimmeck / Flickr

Want to learn more about Azures? Check our other posts:
Top 10 Things to Do in the Azores
11 Reasons Why You Should Visit the Azores

reduce food waste

15 Super Easy Ways to Eat Environmentally Friendly

March 18, 2019
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It’s important to figure out a way to eat environmentally friendly. Every small change you make has the potential to make a huge difference. Reducing plastic use by using reusable grocery bags to reducing water use, there are a lot of ways that you can help our environment and eat in a more environmentally friendly and healthy way. Here are some ways in which you can still eat the foods you love but in a greener way.

We put together some tips for you so you can still eat the foods you love but in a greener way. Not many people realize that their daily behaviors can impact a significant change in their environment. Choosing one form of packaging over another or picking seasonal fruit instead of exotic fruits which have traveled thousands of miles, we can effectively help to make the difference to our planet.

There are many ways to eat environmentally friendly and it isn’t difficult at all

Here are 15 tips to help you initiate the change and consume food in a more responsible way.

1. Instead of using plastic bags, at the supermarket, bring your own:

Plastic bags use fossil fuels in their production and often degrade into toxic particles that enter the ecosystem. Every year Americans use over 100 billion plastic bags. These billions of plastic bags end up in the landfill. It can take hundreds of years for plastic utensils, styrofoam containers, and glass bottles to decompose. Eat environmentally friendly by bringing reusable biodegradable grocery bags.

2. Avoid eating endangered: Many fish species, like the bluefin tuna, are on the brink of extinction, and should never be.

3. Choose seasonal fruit and veggies

Seasonal produce allows you not only to support local farming but also to eat well. Seasonal fruit and veggies are tastier and full of nutrients. This will save you on transportation costs and burn less fuel, reducing the carbon footprint.

4. If at all possible, eat foods raw.

Not all foods should be eaten raw, but most of the vegetables can be eaten raw which saves energy on gas from your stone and healthier for you since it preserves all the nutrition. And It is another way to eat environmentally friendly and environment healthy.
Instead of boiling or sautéing your veggies, try to eat them raw as often as possible.

5. Preserve seasonal treats

If you really love cherries or strawberries and would like to eat them all year, it’s not a problem. Learn how to preserve both fruit and vegetables so you can eat locally-grown produce all year long.

6. Purchasing dairy products that are hormone-free.

Make sure that the livestock was not raised with any type of hormones which are artificial and can cause negative impacts.

Eat Environmentally Friendly

7. Buy organic

It is not only good for your body but it is good for the environment.

8. Eat less dairy

The production of one pound of cheese might produce more than 11 lbs. of carbon dioxide, which adds to climate change. Eating less dairy products, you’ll be effectively reducing your impact on the environment.

9. Reduce waste

Stop using plastic dishes, plastic utensils or paper napkins. Use real plates, utensils, choose cloth napkins, which can be reused.

10. Repurpose leftovers

Instead of throwing away your leftovers, try to transform them into new meals. You’ll be reducing waste and save on the energy required for cooking a new meal.

11. Eat only meats that do not contain antibiotics.

Many farm animals that are raised for meat are given antibiotics which makes the meat unhealthy. Antibiotics and chemicals are not good for the animals nor the environment either for humans.

12. Support restaurants that purchase their products from locally-owned markets.

These restaurants support local farmers and get the most sustainable sources of produce and other food. Make sure you ask where the food is sourced from.

13. Recycle your food.

You can turn a lot of your waste into resources. You can turn food scraps into compost for your garden. There are a lot of options that are available that you can use to go environment-friendly.

14. Try growing vegetables of your own.

By adding potted plants or a small plot of vegetables, you can have easy access to fresh food which ultimately saves you a trip to the grocery store which saves you gas as well.

Shop responsibly

When doing your grocery shopping, it’s best to choose stores which show interest in sustainable practices and genuinely care for the environment. Being environmentally friendly is proofed to be paid off. Check the store websites to learn more about your food providers and choose those who care about limiting waste, if run a store-wide recycling program or have doors in refrigerated sectors to save energy.

Photo credit: Freepik Pixabay from Pexels

1 Comment
    Diving Zenobia says: Log in to Reply
    January 10th 2020, 5:57 pm

    I hope that you won’t stop writing such interesting articles. I’m waiting for more of your content. I’m going to follow you.

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5 Things to Know About the Sunscreen and How to Protect the Coral Reefby padmin / September 14, 2019Protect the Coral Reef

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