Holland & Barrett has become the first major retailer in the UK to ban the sale of all sun-care products containing Oxybenzone and Octinoxate.
Research has revealed that more than 14,000 tonnes of suncream washes into the ocean each year. Holland & Barrett now only offers 100% mineral sun-care products across their full range, an environmentally-friendly sun protection option to their customers.
“We all want to stay safe in the sun, but few people realise how harmful the chemicals in sunscreens can be to marine life, especially corals. Even if we don’t swim soon after applying lotion, those chemicals can still reach the ocean when we shower or use an aerosol application. Our ocean has been bombarded with toxic chemicals following decades of industrial and agricultural waste pouring into it. Now we know the damage these can do, every step we can take to prevent it worsening is critical.
We hope other retailers will follow Holland & Barrett in banning chemical sun protection lotion so that everyone can play a bigger role in protecting ocean health, which is so vital for all living things.”
– Jo Ruxton from Ocean Generation
“As a business that cares about the wellness of people and our planet, we’re constantly looking at ways to help make beauty shopping more sustainable.”
– Joanne Cooke, Beauty Trading Director at Holland & Barrett, and Sustainable Beauty Coalition Steering Committee Member
