The short answer to this question is yes. Every year, thousands of Irish head off for some much needed sun, with litres of sun cream in tow. Many sun cream manufacturers don’t enclose the fact that some chemicals contained in their sun-creams contaminate the ocean by killing coral reef. There may also be as many as 82,000 kinds of chemicals from personal care products that have made their way into the world’s oceans, according to a report by Marine Life, a marine conservation NGO.
Every year, up to 14,000 tonnes of sun-cream makes its way into the ocean from holiday makers and locals taking to the ocean to cool down from the summer sun. The effect this is going to have on the coral reef is irreversible. Chemicals such as Oxybenzone, Butylparaben, Octinoxate and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor are all extremely common ingredients in sun creams sold today which transfer from your skin to the water and eventually sink, creating a layer over coral reef which ultimately bleaches and kills it over time.
With summer fast approaching, The Circular wanted to give you the low down on products you can buy in time for summer to do your part in protecting our oceans:
- Goddess Garden Mineral Sunscreen, Amazon.co.uk €19.50
- Badger Tinted Sunscreen, Amazon.co.uk €21.50
- ThinkBaby Safe Sunscreen, Amazon.co.uk €23.47
- Tropical Sands All Natural Sunscreen, Amazon.co.uk €54.50
