Is this reef safe?

Question

Is this reef safe?

skate08 · Accepted Answer

Hi there! Toxicologist here.

Setting aside what the actual science says (which is either that no sunscreen ingredients have been proven safe, or that none have been proven harmful at real world concentrations - some have shown damage in a lab setting at 1000x the level found in anywhere on earth - depending on what you want to conclude) the labels “reef safe” and “reef friendly” aren’t actually regulated, so they can mean anything the manufacturer wants them to and they’re really just a marketing choice.

That said, what many manufacturers choose to label as “reef safe” are sunscreens formulated without oxybenzone and octinoxate. Products containing those ingredients aren’t outright banned for reef swimming anywhere, but are banned from being sold in certain jurisdictions.

A quick look at the ingredients list shows that this doesn’t contain either. So, despite not having a “disclaimer” as such, yes this product complies with what would typically be labelled as “reef safe.”