For most people, summer is the best season, because it stands for sun, warmth and holidays, as well as sunscreen, or at least it should. But the traditional sunscreen is bad for the environment and here is why.
Protecting our skin from the sun is important, because its radiation can damage your skin and cause cancer. Sunscreen is one of the ways you can keep your skin safe.
Although, as the Skin Cancer Foundation points out, sun cream should be used in combination with other protections. So the fact that conventional sunscreens are bad for the environment is a big problem.
But why is sunscreen bad for the environment? Let’s find out…
Conventional Sunscreen Ingredients Harm Our Planet
Like with so many products, it’s the ingredients used that cause harm to our environment. While they protect us from harmful UV rays while on our skin, they get into waterways, where they cause harm to aquatic life, including coral reefs (Chatzigianni et al., 2022).
There are two different types of active ingredients, UV filters, used in sunscreens: organic and inorganic.
Organic, sometimes also called chemical, UV filters are made from carbon, often petroleum. This means they were made from petrochemicals, which aren’t a sustainable material. Inorganic, often called mineral, UV filters don’t contain carbon but are minerals, which are made from rocks.
The ingredients most often classed as harmful are the organic UV filters, such as oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, avobenzone and many more. The inorganic ingredients are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which are seen as safer for coral reefs.
So what is the environmental impact of all these UV filters in our environment? A study from 2021 by Moeller et al. found that some of the organic UV filters commonly used in sunscreen contribute to coral bleaching.
Bleaching can lead to the death of a coral reef and given how many different aquatic species it supports, this is a disaster for biodiversity.
And it’s not just coral reefs either: marine life is also affected. Research has shown that some UV filters are toxic or harmful to crustaceans, aquatic midges and invertebrates. (Wong et al., 2020, Campos et al., 2017, Kusk et al., 2010).
It’s important to say that even the safer mineral UV filters can have a negative impact on aquatic life, as the study by Wong et al. shows. However, research seems to suggest that it’s mostly the nano form of these mineral ingredients that cause issues, because they are so small they can be absorbed.
The non-nano form is less likely to cause harm, although there is some evidence that even the bigger particles can be harmful to marine life.
In the EU and UK 34 UV filters are approved for use in sunscreens and cosmetics, in the USA there are only 16 that are approved to be used by the FDA. Interestingly, the FDA only classes the two mineral UV filters as safe.
There are also restrictions in many countries on the quantity that can be used of each UV filter. But that doesn’t stop the ingredients from being harmful to our environment thanks to bioaccumulation.
Apart from the UV filters, some inactive ingredients commonly used in conventional sunscreens have also been shown to be harmful to our environment, including parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances.
According to research (Giokas et al., 20027), harmful ingredients reach our waterways in two ways. Sunscreen can get into our rivers, lakes and oceans through bathing and swimming. When we enter the water, some of the sun cream we use gets washed off.
Even if the sun protection cream is water-resistant, some of it still gets washed off. The other way is through waste water discharge. This means if you put sun cream on to sit in your garden and then shower, the ingredients get washed away.
Although the water then goes through a water treatment plant, some of the chemicals from the sunscreen won’t be stopped during the process and will reach our waterways.
Another study by Janjua et al., 2008, has found three of the most commonly used UV filters in human urine and blood. This means that these harmful ingredients are also released into our waterways when we go to the loo.
As you can see, it’s impossible to prevent the harmful ingredients to get into our waterways, so we need to make sure we only use mineral sunscreens containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in non-nano form. Because mineral sunscreens are the best alternative to chemical UV filters.
They aren’t perfect, but they are the most eco-friendly ingredients to protect you from UV rays currently available and are seen as reef safe. And we need to keep away from chemical sunscreens, as these are more likely to be harmful to aquatic organisms.
Thankfully, mineral sunscreens work just as well as chemical ones, if not better. So you don’t have to compromise on your protection.
But the ingredients used aren’t the only reason why sunscreen is bad for the environment.
Plastic Packaging Is Another Issue With Conventional Sunscreens
Most things we buy nowadays are either made of plastic or are packaged in it and sun protection is no different. And the reason is simple: it’s much cheaper than more environmentally-friendly packaging options, such as glass or metal.
There are three main issues with plastic:
- The vast majority of plastic is made from fossil fuels, the use of which contributes to global warming and climate change
- Even recyclable plastic can only be recycled a couple of times before it becomes waste
- Plastic can take hundreds if not thousands of years to break down
So even if the plastic bottle your sun protection comes in can be recycled, this doesn’t mean it’s eco-friendly. We are far too reliant on recycling to solve our plastic waste problem.
But recycling isn’t the answer, especially given that only around 9% of plastic worldwide is recycled. That’s just a tiny fraction of the plastic that is produced every year.
Instead, we have to move away from plastic wherever possible. Big businesses won’t do this though unless we, as consumers, force them. That’s because plastic is cheap, versatile and durable.
However, if we only buy products that aren’t packaged in plastic, they will have to listen and change their ways. So look for sun cream that comes in more eco-friendly packaging, such as glass jars or aluminium tubes.
Both these materials can be recycled indefinitely, so they can be used to create a circular packaging system, where no new material needs to be made.
Choosing Eco-Friendly Sun Protection
While no currently available sunscreen is 100% environmentally friendly, there are options that are better for our coral reefs and marine environment than others. And given how important it is to protect our skin from the negative effects of sun rays, we can’t just stop using protection altogether.
The reasons why sunscreen is bad for the environment will give us a guide on how to find sun protection that won’t harm our planet too much.
Here are the things to look out for:
- Look for a sun cream that contains mineral UV filters rather than chemical ones – zinc oxide or titanium dioxide
- Make sure the UV filters are non-nano – if the label says nano zinc oxide or nano titanium dioxide, don’t buy it
- Choose sunscreens that come in plastic-free packaging – glass jars or aluminium tubes are more eco-friendly
- Use other methods of sun protection to reduce the use of sunscreen – long-sleeved clothing, hats and sunglasses help to protect you in an eco-friendly way
- Stay out of the sun as much as possible – sitting in the shade rather than in the sun is better for you and the environment
By following these tips you can protect your skin while also looking out for our environment. This means you can enjoy summer and the warmth without having to worry.
More Information:
If you have more questions about sustainable sun protection, read our article about eco-friendly sunscreen.
