For us, the ocean is not just a place we love to visit, it’s an ecosystem we feel a responsibility to protect.
For over 30 years, we’ve been committed to creating skin care that’s kind to sensitive skin and mindful of the world around us. That commitment extends beyond our formulations and into how our choices affect the natural environment, including our seas and shorelines.
From the ingredients we choose to avoid in our natural and organic sun creams, to the charities we support, protecting marine life is woven into how we do business.
That’s why we’re proud to stand alongside the Marine Conservation Society, supporting their vital work to protect the UK’s seas, beaches and marine wildlife. Here’s how our ocean-friendly approach helps make a difference.
Our ocean-friendly policy
We point-blank refuse to use PFAS, microplastics or Oxybenzone in any of our products and take a responsible, science-based approach to sun care formulation.
This includes:
- Choosing modern UV filters that current studies suggest are low concern for marine life at realistic exposure levels
- Continuously reviewing new environmental research and updating our practices when better options become available
To further help protect our seas and shorelines from harm, we use recyclable packaging that need never end up in sea-polluting landfills, and we donate a percentage of our profits to the Marine Conservation Society.
Whenever you buy a 200ml tube of our Scent Free SPF30 Sun Cream, we donate 20p to this worthy cause.
Scent Free Sun Cream SPF30 200ml
Protect sensitive skin naturally with our best-selling SPF30 sun cream€42,95
Why do we do all this? Well, our seas are threatened by rising temperatures, overfishing and pollution; if this continues, marine life may struggle to survive. Creating sunscreens with a lower impact on the marine environment is one of the practical ways we help protect our oceans.
Who are the Marine Conservation Society?
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is a UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores and wildlife.
An important voice in the campaign for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fishing, and the protection of marine life, they raise awareness of the many threats that face our seas and inspire individuals, industries, and the government to take action to protect the marine environment.
Like us, the MCS fought hard for the UK’s ban on microplastics in leave-on beauty products. A key influencer in the UK’s plastic bag tax, they also campaigned for a ban on plastic wet wipes and continue to fight for a ban on forever chemicals, PFAS. However, their most successful campaign has to be their annual beach clean event, Great British Beach Clean.
Celebrating 30 years of the Great British Beach Clean
Did you know that the MCS held its first Great British Beach Clean in 1994? Unlike other beach cleans, The Great British Beach Clean collects data that the government uses to inform them of the biggest sea pollution threats so that they can take necessary action, such as banning wet wipes and implementing the plastic bag tax.
To celebrate the MCS’s milestone 30th year, we joined them for a beach clean in Brighton. Before we set off, the MCS told us that, even though the beach was cleaned almost daily in high season, we would most likely find some repeat offenders on the shore.
They weren't wrong. In just one hour of beach cleaning, we scooped up 8lb of manmade rubbish, including lollipop sticks, cigarettes, food forks, bottle caps and more drink waste than we could count. This included plastic cups, beer cans, beer caps and beer bottles.
Later, we joined a panel discussion in which the MCS told us that drink waste was one of the significant causes of ocean pollution. They reminded us that the UK's oceans are home to dolphins, seals and seahorses. They also explained that these inquisitive sea creatures unwittingly ingest the polluting plastic in their stomachs and then feel full. The marine life would then not hunt, causing them to lose out on the nutrients they need to survive in the wild.
We also learned that it costs 30p to pick up one item of litter and around £3,000 to clean an entire beach. That means that over the years, the donations raised by your Green People shopping have helped the MCS clean a beach a year, removing over a quarter of a million pieces of rubbish from UK beaches.
Preventing sunscreen sea pollution
Did you know our Green Beauty Club members can donate their reward vouchers to the Marine Conservation Society? Each time you shop with us, you’ll earn points to donate to our chosen charity partners.
Alongside financial donations, Green People supports the MCS’s work by refusing to use chemicals in any of our products that have been found to harm the marine environment.
In addition to offering 100% mineral SPFs, all our non-nano sunscreens are free from Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, two commonly used sunscreen filters that have been shown to bleach (kill) coral reefs, an essential habitat to ocean life.
Our range of marine-friendly sunscreens are also free from parabens and PFAS, forever chemicals that the MCS says have been shown to harm the health of marine species including bottlenose dolphin fish and seabirds[i].
Another way our marine-friendly sun care products help the environment is by using a high percentage of organic ingredients. These are not exposed to nitrogen fertilisers, which can enter the seas and create ‘dead zone’ areas where marine life cannot survive.
How you use sunscreen matters as much as which one you choose. We offer tips on how you can use sunscreen responsibly in our guide to ocean-friendly sunscreen.
Shop for ocean-friendly sun care
Discover sun protection products that make a difference, and explore our range of marine-friendly sun care products.
Browse the full sun care range now.
[i] https://www.mcsuk.org/ocean-emergency/ocean-pollution/chemicals/pfas-forever-chemicals/
We hope that you have found this information helpful. For help finding the best ocean-friendly sunscreen for you, head over to our SPF finder tool or drop us a note at @GreenPeopleUK.
This blog post has been reviewed by Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People, who has 25+ years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry. A recognised leader in the field of organic beauty, Charlotte helped inform the UK's first organic beauty standards and was voted the People’s Choice in the 2023 list of Who’s Who in Natural Beauty. A published author, she wrote the organic beauty bible ‘Naturally Gorgeous’. Previously, she qualified as a nurse and spent over ten years working in pharmaceuticals.
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