ZERO WASTE SUNSCREEN: A MUST-HAVE FOR SUMMER
When I was little, my summer days consisted of sun, pool and friends every day. My apartment complex has a community pool that I would spend all my time in, playing make believe with friends, eating hot dogs, and floating on pool noodles. Rarely did I ever think about sunscreen. I'd put it on once over the course of the day and forget to put on any more. In fact, most of it probably got washed clean off because I'd jump in the pool minutes after putting it on. Those were the days. But now, things are different. With all the skin cancer scares, and the fact you can get severe sunburn without proper protection, it's always best to put on sunscreen. I've learned that. In fact, sunscreen has become my new best friend in the summer. I never go to the beach or pool without it (and I make sure to apply it more than once) throughout the day. That said, most sunscreens contain harmful chemicals that can hurt both you and the environment. Plus, they tend to come in plastic packaging, making it hard to recycle (if it gets recycled at all). It's gotten to the point where Hawaii has become the first state to ban sunblock that contains chemicals harmful to marine life. It makes you wonder, what exactly is in your sunscreen? Instead of taking a chance (and harming our precious waterways), make the switch to zero waste sunscreen instead.
There are a lot of zero waste options for you to choose from, but one of my favorite zero waste sunscreens would definitely have to be Raw Elements. Here's why and what you need to know.
My favorite: Raw Elements Sunscreen
Better ingredients: I've been using this since last year and have absolutely loved it. Not only is it plastic free (packaged in a tin), but it's also free of any icky ingredients. Plus, everything is organic! It does contain zinc oxide (non nano), but that's a good thing: Zinc is the active ingredient in it that offers broad-spectrum protection, shielding you from both UVB rays (which cause sunburn) and UVA rays (which can go deeper and be more dangerous). Zinc is also an essential mineral that our bodies need to function properly, so adding some (non nano) zinc to sunscreen is a smart, healthy move. Non nano zinc oxide is important too, because nano zinc oxide could cause lung damage when inhaled and have adverse effects on the environment, according to EWG. Thankfully, Raw Elements uses non nano zinc oxide just to be on the safe side. The other ingredients they use are organic sunflower oil, green tea, black tea, coffee bean, hemp seed oil, cocoa butter, mango butter, beeswax, rosemary oil extract and vitamin E. It all almost sounds good enough to eat!
Plastic-free: Raw Elements offers several sunscreen options, including non-plastic options. The one pictured in this article is their body and face sunscreen. It's an older design (they've since updated their look), but it still works great. It comes in a tin about the size of my palm. What I love about this is that when it's empty and out of sunscreen, I can just reuse it for whatever I want. More than likely I'll use it to store jewelry or house my DIYs. Plus, since it's made of aluminum it's easy to recycle if need be. This is so important, considering most plastic does not get recycled at all and ends up back in our environment. I will admit when I bought this, it did come with some protective plastic film around it (to keep it from being opened by on-lookers), but there wasn't much I could do about that.
Other zero waste sunscreen options:
If you don't feel like purchasing Raw Elements sunscreen, for whatever reason, there are definitely more zero waste sunscreens out there. I suggest checking out Etsy to see what you can find.
Also, here are some other brands I recommend that offer zero waste sunscreen:
EiR NYC – All Natural Surf Mud: This sunscreen is available in a 2 oz recyclable/reusable metal tin, or a 1.5 oz compostable tube. The ingredients consist of coconut oil, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, beeswax, tea tree oil and zinc oxide.
All Good Sunscreen Butter SPF 50+ : Available in 1 oz recyclable/reusable metal tin. It's ideal for the face, nose, ears and more. The ingredients are zinc oxide, organic coconut oil, organic beeswax, organic calendula flowers infused in organic jojoba oil and vitamin E.
BALM! Baby All Natural Sunscreen SPF 30: Vegan and perfectly suited for babies. Comes in a 2 oz compostable paper tube or a 2 oz glass jar. Made with organic olive oil, calendula extract, shea butter, coconut and macadamia nut oil, zinc oxide, kukui nut oil, sesame seed oil, candelilla wax, St. John's wort extract, chickweed extract, neem oil, vitamin E, organic essential oils: orange, lavender and tea tree.
Dirty Hippie Cosmetics Coconut Sunscreen Balm: Vegan. Comes packaged in a metal tin or biodegradable tube. Ships worldwide from Australia. Made from certified organic virgin coconut oil, shea liquid, shea butter, cocoa butter, non-micronized zinc oxide, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, carrot seed, raspberry seed and wheatgerm oils, natural vitamin E, steam distilled lime essential oil.
Butterbean SPF 30 Good Sun Sport Stick: Comes in a 1 oz stick in biodegradable tube. Cruelty-free, reef safe and biodegradable. Top rated by the Environmental Working Group. Great for children and babies. Made from non nano zinc oxide, coconut oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, olive oil, beeswax, shea butter, jojoba seed oil, polyhydroxystearic acid.
Avasol Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30+ or SPF 50+: This sunscreen comes in a 1 oz compostable tube and is available in SPF 30+ and SPF 50+. It's great for adults and children. Also offers liquid sunscreen in metal containers with refill packs to reduce waste. Made with zinc oxide (non-nano), titanium dioxide (non-nano), organic coconut oil, organic jojoba seed oil, organic sunflower oil, wildcrafted calendilla wax, organic tamanu oil, organic argan oil, silica, wildrafted cupuacu seed butter, wildcrafted buriti fruit oil, emu oil, organic shea butter, red raspberry seed oil, organic beeswax, vitamin E, iron oxides, organic fragrance, propolis, plankton extract, mica, wildcrafted manuka oil, organic rosemary leaf extract, organic cinnamomum zeylanicum leaf oil.
What zero waste sunscreens are you going to try this summer?