Hawaii set for first ever ban on two sunscreen ingredients

Hawaii is poised to implement the world’s first ban on sunscreen containing oxybenzone and octinoxate, two that research has shown can harm coral reefs. The legislation passed Hawaii’s state House and Senate earlier this month. If signed into law by governor David Ige, the sale and distribution of over the counter sunscreens with these two ingredients will be banned in Hawaii in 2021.

The legislative effort is based in large part on the results of research from 2016 led by Craig Downs at the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory (HEL) in Virginia, US that indicated oxybenzone is detrimental to coral growth.