Safe for You Safe for Our Waters

Protect Land + Sea Certification

Haereticus Environmental Lab created the Protect Land + Sea (PL+S) certification because selecting a reef-safe sunscreen is more challenging than it should be. HEL is a non-profit, scientific organization whose mission is to conserve wildlife and ecosystems. If a product wears the Protect Land + Sea Certification Seal, consumers, park rangers, and businesses can rest assured that a product does not contain ingredients that may be harmful environmental pollutants.

Aquatic Toxicity and Safety

We began by testing on C. Elegans, simple nematodes, which are ideal for rapid, predictive screening on inflammatory ingredients. We then moved on to freshwater and saltwater fish species, looking at the impact on the fish’s eating behavior, swimming behavior and, of course, mortality rates. Our studies were prepared and conducted by the EcoTox team at Eckerd College. The test subjects were fed at the same time every day and the same amount of food for 96 hours. The fish were exposed to the highest concentration of product that any marine animal or plant would ever naturally come into contact with. For each test, we added a competitor’s product to one group of subjects, the second group was exposed to the same concentration of Stream2Sea’s biodegradable sunscreens and product, and finally, the control group was not exposed to any foreign products. During every observation period, mortality rate, feeding behavior and swimming behavior was recorded. These experiments were done for each of our products before determining their safety. We were pleased to note that our sunscreen did not generate any mortality.

Tests Summary of Biodegradable Sunscreens and Products

We set out to create the safest product line of biodegradable sunscreens and bodycare possible for us and the environment. Our company is led by a vegetarian and an animal rights activist, yet we realized that the only way to determine if our products would be harmful to fish and other aquatic life was to test them on living animals. Read more about the tough decisions we’ve had to make about product testing through the process here.  In the end, we are very proud of the SAFE products that we have created. You can feel good using our products during all your adventures, in the backyard or while exploring our beautiful planet blue.

Scientific Test Results

• Koty Sharp, Assistant Professor, Biology & Marine Science, ECKERD COLLEGE Stream2Sea Sunscreens Test Results on Coral Larvae.
• Dr. Denise B. Flaherty, Assistant Professor of Biology, ECKERD COLLEGE COLLEGIUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES Stream2Sea Products Statement of Findings

References

• Toxicopathological Effects of the Sunscreen UV Filter, Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3), on Coral Planulae and Cultured Primary Cells and Its Environmental Contamination in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Downs C.A. et al. 2015 October. Summary of test results.  Also: Full Text.
• Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting Viral Infections. Environmental Health Perspectives. Danovaro R, et al. 2008 April. Full Text
• The Impacts of Sunscreens on Our Coral Reefs. National Park Service. Sunscreen Bulletin