In a nutshell, the Green Deal. The Green Deal is a set of European Union (EU) policies and initiatives aimed at addressing environmental and climate challenges. It encompasses various strategies and actions to combat climate change, protect the environment, and promote sustainable development.
And I’ll take sunscreen as an example:
Some context…
Many UV filters have been demonstrated to be some of these things:
- Accumulate in the environment and cause harm to aquatic and marine life
- Actually, accumulate in humans (e.g.) as endocrine disruptors.
There are many studies on these – and you point out, but hey, many of these have dubious assumptions – many of these need more data.
Hands-down I agree with you – the data and how its interpreted is always open to debate.
Given the changes to our climate – a scorching summer in Europe, wildfires in North America, hurricanes, floods etc – does anyone need any convincing that everyone should be doing more to protect our environment (including aquatic life)?
But is that the real issue?
What keeps manufacturers awake at night is frankly the fact some/all UV filters would come under EU scrutiny (as part of the Green Deal) and be taken off the permitted UV filter list in the EU.
Who is headed for the chopping board?
Octocrylene
Octinoxate
Oxybenzone
Avobenzone (Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane)
Innovation, innovation…
Manufacturers WHO HAVE FAILED to invest in new technological innovations, would then face the daunting task of:
- Developing new UV filters
- Providing substantial evidence to support their claims of non-harmful effects on the environment, especially aquatic ecosystems.
Quite frankly, arguments such as there is a public interest in doing everything to encourage consumers to use sunscreens (in light of rising skin cancer rates) and the and time-consuming process (often spanning a decade) involved in developing new UV filters, fall on deaf ears for me (see below)
This is my twopence
NO one is going to miss (e.g.) Oxybenzone or Octinoxate. And all the Green Deal will do is to penalize those manufacturers who have continued to put their head in the sand and pretend that these filters don’t have an environmental/human cost to them.
On the other hand, those manufacturers that have invested in innovating new filters that are not detrimental to the environment are not going to be rewarded for their investments.
Does this mean the end of sunscreen as we know it?
That’s what manufacturers would have us believe. ITS NOT.
This is a list of some UV filters, that have some (or all) of these characteristics: are photostable, large in molecular size (no dermal penetration) and provide SUPERIOR UV protection:
- Tinosorb B, Bemotrizinol (Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine)
- DHHB, Uvinul A Plus ( Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate)
- MBBT (Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol)
- Uvinul T 150 (Ethylhexyl Triazone)
- Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid (TDSA) (also Mexoryl SX or Ecamsule)
- Drometrizole Trisiloxane (Mexoryl XL)
- TDSA (Mexoryl SX) is a broad-spectrum UVA absorber with a maximum absorbance at 344nm.
These are all permitted in the EU
As far as the public health issue is concerned, just the application of sunscreen DOES NOT prevent skin cancer. You need to inter alia
– apply the correct amount
– apply it every 2 hours
And then not expose yourself to excess UV radiation at its peak.
There are many many strategies to preventing skin cancer and NOT just sunscreen..
Failing to see the signs…
Its a bit late in the day for manufacturers to cry wolf over one of the most pressing issues (ie climate change and protection of the environment) of our time
Source:
#Environmentalprotection, #Sunscreensafety, #UVprotection,
#Marineconservation, #Endocrinedisruptors, #Greendeal, #Nontoxicskincare, #ProtectOurOceans, #Sunscreenawareness, #InnovativeUVfilters,
#ResponsibleManufacturing