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Governor David Ige, signed into law, SB 2571, Act 104 which prohibits the sale, offer of sale, and distribution of sunscreens which contain the chemicals oxybenzone or octinoxate in Hawaii, beginning Jan. 2, 2021.

“Studies have documented the negative impact of these chemicals on corals and other marine life. Our natural environment is fragile, and our own interaction with the earth can have lasting impacts. This new law is just one step toward protecting the health and resiliency of Hawai‘i’s coral reefs,” said Gov. Ige.

As we previously identified, in early-May discussion on the bill to ban sunscreen in Hawaii as taking place within the Hawaiian legislature. At that time, the ban was to begin on 01 January 2019. During the intra-legislature haggling, the date was pushed out. We suspect to give manufacturers the opportunity to being their product offerings into line with SB2571 requirements.

“Healthy reefs are a fundamental part of a larger ecosystem which is important to the health of our planet. This bill has enormous significance and I’m so happy on behalf of the Senate to be here participating in the signing of this very important bill. Governor, by signing this measure, you are presenting our community with a unique moment in time to protect our coral reefs,” said Sen. Roz Baker

“In my lifetime, our planet has lost about half its coral reefs. We’ve got to take action to make sure we can protect the other half as best we can because we know that time is against us,” said Rep. Chris Lee

To check to see if your favorite sunscreen product will be ok for use in Hawaii, you can use the National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine – Daily Med lookup tool. This tool will provide you with the most current version of the label for most (not all) such products.

For those interested in finding products which will pass muster with respect to the presence of oxybenzone or octinoxate, I commend your attention to the Safe Sunscreen Council, a coalition of companies working to raise public awareness about the impact of sunscreen ingredients may have on people and the planet. The members sell products which are safe.

We have provided links to some of these products.

(Note: If you purchase via one of the below links, we may receive a small commission from the sellers as disclosed in our privacy statement and affiliate disclosure)