Ban coral-killing sunscreen!
To Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, and Costas Kadis, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans.
Petition
We call on you to:
- Phase out and ban these dangerous substances from sunscreen products sold in the European Union: oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, benzophenone-1, benzophenone-8, nano titanium dioxide and 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (4-MBC) from sunscreen products sold in the European Union, and restrict harmful UV filters in Marine Protected Areas and other ecologically sensitive coastal zones.
- Introduce mandatory marine ecotoxicity assessments for all UV filters authorised under EU cosmetic legislation, and ensure environmental claims such as “marine-safe” or “reef-safe” are scientifically verified and legally regulated.
- Promote safer alternatives, including mineral-based UV filters with demonstrated lower environmental impacts.
- Create a dedicated EU funding programme for the conservation, restoration and recovery of Mediterranean coral ecosystems, including coralligenous reefs, red coral habitats and gorgonian forests.
Why is this important?
This summer, millions of people are reaching for sunscreen - slathering it on before going for a swim or enjoying the beach. Many of us choose bottles labelled "reef safe" or "reef friendly", thinking we're helping to protect the sea.
But here’s the problem: in Europe, these labels can mean almost anything - and, most of the time, they mean nothing at all.
Companies don't have to prove their products are safe for marine life before selling them to us. [1]
Several commonly used UV filters accumulate in marine environments and contribute to coral stress, bleaching and wider coastal damage. [2] Some of these same ingredients could also cause lower fertility and hormonal disruption in humans. [3]
Our oceans are under threat. Every summer season that passes without proper regulation is causing damage that we can't undo. [4] Hawaii and Palau have already acted to restrict sunscreen ingredients that threaten marine wildlife. [5] The EU hasn’t.
We should be able to protect our skin and protect the sea with confidence. But that will only happen if enough of us demand change.
Sign the petition calling on the EU to regulate harmful sunscreen ingredients and put an end to misleading "reef safe" claims!
References:
- https://savethereef.org/about-reef-save-sunscreen.html
- https://www.reefsafety.com.au/ ; https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html
- https://suntribesunscreen.com/en-es/pages/toxic-sunscreen-ingredients-to-avoid
- https://www.icm.csic.es/en/news/climate-crisis-drives-mediterranean-coral-populations-collapse
- Hawaii Senate Bill 2571 (effective 2021), prohibits the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate. Palau Responsible Tourism Education Act (2020), bans several reef-toxic sunscreen ingredients. https://www.reefsafety.com.au/blog/what-hawaii-palau-teach-australia
Picture credits: Arnau Argemí