How sustainable is your sunscreen?
How well does your sunscreen protect you and the environment?
Bella Coco, News Editor
With the weather getting warmer and the UV getting higher, more Albertans are grabbing their swimsuits and heading to popular lake destinations such as Lake Louise, Sylvan Lake and Moraine Lake.
Alberta summer weather is known to be fierce, and with a recent heat record of 37.3 C in 2024, it’s crucial to protect yourself and your skin with sunscreen. However, the ingredients preventing your sunburns may be harming wildlife and freshwater ecosystems.
Oxybenzone and octinoxate are the two suspects in the debate against sunscreen sustainability. They have an infamous reputation for being toxic to marine life and coral reefs in saltwater ecosystems. As a result, Hawaii, Key West, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Aruba, Palau, Bonaire and Australia have banned sunscreens with these harmful ingredients.
While talking to the CBC, St. Mary’s University professor and environmental scientist Linda Campbell explained that while the harm your sunscreen might be doing to saltwater is easier to spot, freshwater damage impacts marine life at a micro level. That damage still has a big impact.
“The damage isn’t as obvious and as visible as the bleaching to coral reefs, but they’re still there — and the damages, for example, include DNA damage, bio-accumulation of harmful chemicals, and lower quality and quantity of food sources at the base of the food web,” Campbell said.
For those looking to enjoy time outdoors this summer sustainably, many sunscreens do not contain oxybenzone and octinoxate. To double-check your findings, you can simply check the ingredient list on the product or do some quick research. Some freshwater-friendly brands include Sun Bum, Bare Nature Products and All Good.
Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) has begun research on how to further protect freshwater systems, but many of the results have yet to be discovered.
