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We’re taught from a young age that sunblock is essential to protect against sunburn and skin cancer.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends we "choose a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher, is water resistant, and provides broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB rays) coverage."
But regular sunscreens contain ingredients that can harm marine life, particularly coral reefs.
That's why I needed to find a reef-safe, eco-friendly sunscreen that offers my family's skin all the UVA and UVB protection it needs, but without damaging our amazing oceans and lakes!
Later, I'll reveal the shocking statistics that show just how much damage chemical sunscreens can do. But first, here’s a breakdown of the best eco-friendly sunscreens that provide the recommended protection without harming the environment.
✔ Protect Land + Sea Certified 100% Reef-Safe
✔ 98% Organic Ingredients
✔ Certified Non-GMO
We Say: This is the organic sunscreen we’ve used as a family for years, and, after testing MANY sunscreens for this article, it’s STILL the one we use as a family.
The fact that this sport sunscreen offers protection in water for 80 minutes is a big selling point for me. Our girls LOVE the water!
It’s Protect Land + Sea Certified. Giving complete reassurance that there is nothing in the ingredient list that will cause harm to coral reefs and marine life.
The list of ingredients is reassuringly short. Just four, in fact.
Badger is a Certified B Corporation. All their products are made in the U.S. using 100% solar energy and are certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny.
Organic beeswax is used in this product, making it a good option if you suffer from sensitive skin (see FAQs). But it also means if you’re looking for a fully vegan sunscreen, then this is not the one for you.
This is an effective mineral sunscreen containing natural ingredients…that simply works…for the whole family!
We Say: My mother-in-law swears by this stuff, so I thought I’d give it a test.
It turns out she has excellent taste in sunscreens…and sons-in-law!
It’s a tad pricey, but it disappears into the skin instantly and provides excellent broad-spectrum protection.
It did appear to wash off pretty quickly when in the water. So if you’re looking for a sun lotion to protect you when spending time in the ocean or playing water sports, you should consider something else (Badger, for example).
However, if, like my mother-in-law, your idea of a beach day is sitting on a padded recliner reading a book and sipping something cold and bubbly, then this product might be perfect for you.
Especially if you’re looking for a vegan option.
This is the only eco-friendly sunblocker I tested that has been awarded EWG Verified status. Giving you extra peace of mind that there are no hidden nasties in the ingredients list.
✔ Certified Non-Toxic
✔ Plastic-Free & Zero-Waste
✔ All Natural Ingredients
We Say: This is another of the reef-safe sunscreens that performs incredibly well in the ocean, offering a good level of water resistance.
It also performs admirably out of water. It doesn’t run with sweat, so it’s a perfect option for protecting your face when out hiking.
It feels light and moisturizing on the skin, despite being more of a solid than a lotion.
I liked the solid nature of this sunscreen. I found it made applying the correct amount easier. It also means you can take it onto a plane in your carry-on luggage.
I also liked the faint earthy smell of green tea.
EWG has awarded this sunscreen a level one accreditation. This is their second-highest level and gives extra assurances that no toxic ingredients have been used.
Raw Elements are a member of 1% For The Planet. Their sunscreen products are certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and GMO-free by Non-GMO Project.
The aluminum tin is a nice touch too. The packaging can be reused or recycled. Making this a fully zero-waste/plastic-free eco-friendly sunblock.
✔ Zinc Oxide Protection
✔ EWG 2 Certified
✔ Supports Local Businesses
We Say: This is another sunscreen that has been awarded a level two accreditation by EWG.
It’s FDA-tested to be waterproof for 80 minutes and rubs in clear, with no sticky residue left on the skin.
The smell is also amazing. The coconut and vanilla notes are tropical and relaxing.
The product is made in Hawaii and helps support local growers and businesses.
We Say: Sky and Sol's tallow-based formula may sound unusual, but it performed well in my testing across various outdoor activities, including beach days and hiking trails. This sunscreen gave me a good level of protection without the thick white cast I experienced with some of the mineral formulas I tested and rejected
The texture of the Sky and Sol Mineral Sunscreen is lovely. It absorbs quickly, and my skin feels moisturized rather than coated. The formula also works well under my wife's makeup.
Sky and Sol sources grass-fed tallow from Australian cattle and combines it with jojoba esters and organic beeswax. The ingredients list contains no seed oils, chemical UV filters, or synthetic preservatives.
My family and I put each of these products through rigorous real-world testing during the summer months in Florida, where the sun is intense and the humidity puts any skincare product to the ultimate test.
We evaluated every sunscreen based on the following criteria.
We rejected over 20 sunscreen brands during our testing process because they failed to meet our standards for ingredient safety, environmental certifications, or real-world performance.
We purchased every product we tested online with our own money. No brand gifted us any items for review. No brand is permitted to pay for inclusion in this list. Our recommendations are based on our genuine testing experience and our commitment to protecting both your skin and the environment.
Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-1, Benzophenone-8, OD-PABA, 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor, 3-Benzylidene camphor, nano-Titanium dioxide, nano-Zinc oxide, Octinoxate, Octocrylene are all commonly found in chemical sunscreens.
Sunscreen chemicals can harm marine life in the following ways.
Source: National Ocean Service
Here's a breakdown of the most harmful chemicals to avoid, and why.
The sunscreen ingredient oxybenzone (benzophenone-3) has multiple toxic effects on corals, including the following:
Lethal concentrations for coral cells can be as low as tens of micrograms per liter, and such levels have been measured in some reef waters (Downs et al., 2016).
Sea anemones and corals convert oxybenzone into phototoxic compounds, causing high mortality under sunlight (Vuckovic et al., 2022).
In 2021, Hawaii became the first state to ban sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate due to their harmful effect on coral reefs. The ban was extended to cover products containing octocrylene and avobenzone in 2023.
The sunscreen ingredient octocrylene accumulates in coral tissues as fatty acid conjugates. It is linked with mitochondrial dysfunction, indicating toxicity concerns (Stien et al., 2019).
Octinoxate is an effective ingredient that provides superior broad-spectrum protection against burns and aging.
Studies indicate octinoxate is detrimental to coral health and can degrade into benzophenone, a known carcinogen and hormone disruptor (Smithsonian).
Octinoxate has been measured in coastal waters at tens to hundreds of nanograms per liter (ICRI).
Octinoxate disrupted thyroid endocrine function and feedback mechanisms in zebrafish larvae in a controlled study (Ka & Ji, 2022).
Parabens are a family of chemicals used as preservatives in cosmetic products. Common parabens used in sunscreen include ethylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, and benzylparaben.
Butylparaben can trigger rapid and complete coral bleaching at very low tested concentrations (10 μL/L, about 10 parts per billion) in controlled experiments (ICRI).
In fish, parabens are considered endocrine disruptors that affect estrogen-, androgen-, thyroid-, and steroidogenesis-related pathways and can impair reproduction and offspring viability. Longer-chain parabens tend to be more toxic (Dasmahapatra et al., 2024).
Early-life exposure to propylparaben causes developmental and persistent neurobehavioral changes in zebrafish (Merola et al., 2024).
Parabens and their metabolites are present in marine mammals. Ethylparaben reached up to 865 ng/g wet weight in bottlenose dolphin liver in a U.S. coastal survey (Xue et al., 2015).
Parabens persist through wastewater treatment at low levels and are ubiquitous in surface waters and sediments. Chlorinated paraben by-products are more stable and have been detected in wastewater, swimming pools, and rivers (Haman et al., 2015).
83% of sun care products contain microplastics (Plastic Soup Foundation).
Marine wildlife ingest microplastics, which can carry pollutants. They are linked in lab studies to delayed development, reproductive problems, and reduced disease resistance (National Ocean Service).
Microplastics are present in human blood. This biomonitoring study detected several common polymers (Leslie et al., 2022).
If you want to protect your skin and the oceans, you need to ensure that the sunscreen you choose does not contain any ingredients that could potentially upset the delicate marine ecosystem.
Simple. Just choose reef-safe sunscreen. Right?
Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. Greenwashing is rife in the sunscreen industry, so you need to be extra careful that you’re actually buying what you think you’re buying.
Fortunately, some states are starting to come down hard on companies that make unsubstantiated claims about their sunscreen.
Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing UV rays before they get to penetrate your skin.
Mineral sunscreens work by deflecting UV rays away from the skin.
Some natural mineral sunscreens contain nanoparticles (usually zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide).
Nanoparticles are less than 100 nanometers thick (1000 times smaller than the thickness of one strand of hair) and are included in sunscreen to help prevent a white film from forming on your skin during and after application.
Some people like to steer clear of nanoparticle sunscreen and prefer non-nanoparticle sunscreen instead.
Both will protect you from the sun's harmful rays without using multiple potentially harmful chemicals.
Sunscreen with nanoparticles will be easier to rub in and will be invisible.
Sunscreen with non-nanoparticles will require more effort to run in and will leave a visible white film on the skin.
Buying an eco-friendly sunscreen that carries genuine, well-respected certifications is a quick way to ensure that you’re getting a product that matches your eco-credentials.
Some popular green labels to look out for include the following.
Some environmentally friendly sunscreens contain non-vegan ingredients, such as beeswax. To ensure that your suntan oil is vegan, look out for labels carrying well-known vegan accreditations, such as Certified Vegan.
A reef-safe sunscreen is one that does not contain ingredients known to cause harm to coral reefs. Eco-friendly is a catch-all term for products that are better for the environment than standard, non-eco-friendly products.
According to Sierra, “products containing non-nano zinc oxide are generally considered safe for the environment”.
Yes, beeswax helps form a protective barrier on skin and reduces water loss, which can be useful for sensitive or easily irritated skin (Nong et al., 2023).
In human testing, a topical mixture that included beeswax improved symptoms in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis (Al-Waili NS, 2003).
Beach Hut is not a brand I tested, and its website is pretty vague about its reef-safe credentials. I’ve contacted them and will update this article when they get back to me.
Shiseido is a chemical sunscreen, and so not one I tested. However, according to Harper's Bazaar, it “applies clear and gets stronger when exposed to the elements, but is still reef-safe”.
Alba Botanica is free from oxybenzone and octinoxate. It is considered to be reef-safe.
It’s certainly a hot topic when it comes to chemical v mineral sunscreens.
I’ve used mineral eco-friendly sunscreen for many years, so that’s the type I would recommend. All the products mentioned in this article are mineral-based and reef-safe.
I prefer the thought of deflecting UV rays away from my skin to using a bunch of chemicals to absorb them.
This said, most research points to the fact that chemical sunscreens don’t pose a significant threat to human health. I’d just rather not take the chance.
The best sunscreen is the one you’re going to use. If you only have chemical sunscreen in your cabinet, you might as well use it. Any sunscreen is better than none at all!
Where do you buy your eco-friendly sunscreen? Have I missed your favorite brands or biodegradable sunscreens? Drop me a line and let me know.
Our core values mean we always prioritize sustainability over profit. We carefully evaluate and personally test every product to ensure they meet our high standards. All products recommended in this article were tested in accordance with our Review Methodology.
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