More and more concern is growing over chemical sunscreens and the danger they pose to coral reefs. Hawaii recently became the first state to ban the sale of chemical sunscreens. This law will go into effect January 2021. Now the Florida legislature is considering a similar ban on chemical sunscreens.
Chemical Sunscreen Ban
Both the Hawaii and potential Florida ban prevent the sale of chemical sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate. Oxybenzone and octinoxate are two very common UV filters found in many chemical sunscreens on the market.
There have been numerous studies linking these two ingredients to coral reef damage. Check out our post “Toxic Sunscreens Are Killing Our Coral Reefs” for more details on this subject.
Also, it’s important to note that some sunblocks branded as mineral also include oxybenzone and/or octinoxate. That’s why it’s always important to check the active ingredient section on the labels of sunscreens. All sunscreens are required to list all their active ingredients in the drug facts panel on the label. You may find a sunscreen branded “mineral” or “mineral based” contains active ingredients that are both mineral – zinc and/or titanium – and chemical.
Florida Ban
Florida has had both city level and state level legislation. Some, like in Key West, passed; some, like in Miami, failed; and some, like at the state level, is yet to be decided. Here are the Florida details so far.
In February Key West banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate within its city limits. The Key West ban, like the Hawaii one will go into effect January 1, 2021.
Miami Beach and Surfside considered a similar proposal to protect their waters against chemical sunscreen. The proposal went for a vote on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 but failed to pass.
Florida senator Linda Stewart, an Orlando Democrat, filed legislation (Senate Bill 708) to prevent the sale of sunscreens with these two ingredients across the entire Sunshine State unless a person has a prescription. The bill is currently active and to receive updates on the bill go here. I know I’ll be keeping tabs on it.
Stay Safe and Protected with Mineral Sunscreens
At Block Island Organics our sunscreens are truly mineral only. The only active ingredient in our sunscreens is zinc oxide. We’ve used some titanium in prior iterations of our products but currently don’t although we could use it in the future. Of course, we don’t use any chemical UV filters at all. So you’ll definitely always be able to travel to Hawaii or Florida with our sunblocks.
Rest assured you can still have fun in the sun, enjoy our beautiful coral reefs and stay protected with our Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 and/or Natural Face Moisturizer SPF 30.
For even more information on the benefits of mineral sunscreen check out our Mineral Sunscreen blog series.
