Reef safe has no criteria, and mineral filters are not the free pass they are presented as
What the coral evidence establishes and what remains contested, where the regional bans came from, how marine and biodegradability claims fare against the Green Claims Code, and why the metal oxides are not environmentally inert.
Reef safe: what the phrase would have to mean, and what the coral evidence shows
Reef safe has no definition, no standard and no body that certifies it. The underlying coral science is real, contested, and narrower than the phrase implies.
Where the regional sunscreen bans came from, and what they established
Several jurisdictions have prohibited the sale of sunscreens containing named filters. Understanding what those measures were, and what they were not, matters.
Biodegradable, ocean friendly and the Green Claims Code
Environmental claims in the UK have to meet published requirements. Most marine claims on sun care would struggle against them.
Mineral filters and the environment, which is not the free pass it is presented as
Zinc oxide dissolves into zinc species that are toxic to aquatic organisms at concentration, and nanoscale titanium dioxide is photocatalytic in sunlit water.
How an environmental claim is actually assessed when somebody complains
The advertising codes and the Green Claims Code give a workable test for any marine claim in sun care. Applying it takes a few minutes.
Editorial disclosure. This article contains no commercial links. Nothing on it has been paid for, no company has been given sight of it, and no brand or product is named anywhere on this site. This publication takes no money from sunscreen or skincare companies at any price, and the reasons are set out in what we refuse to sell. Published by Northbank Media.
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