Thailand's new sunscreen ban will help protect coral reefs

Mateys, we are seeing a new trend in popular tourist destinations banning harmful sun creams . The republic of Palau announced the drastic measure already in 2018, which became effective on 1 January 2020. Hawaii recently announced they were also going to ban sun creams.

The reason? Protect coral reefs from the "whitening" effect of some chemicals contained in most sun creams. And to protect the colors of the corals, the Thai Department of National Parks is not afraid to raise a voice. The next time you visit Thailand, you could face a fine of around £2,240 for wearing harmful sun cream in marine parks.

Read on to learn more!

Details

After the closure of Maya Bay (made famous by the film The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio) in 2018 due to the damage to its coral reef, Thailand has decided to ban sun creams that contain harmful substances.

For the millions of tourists who (in non-pandemic years) flock to the many Thai beaches, the experience will be slightly different from now on. The creams that contain the four harmful substances (oxybenzone, octinoxate, methylbenzylidene and butylparaben) are now banned and will be confiscated at the entrance to the marine parks.

According to the experts at the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the substances mentioned above, and in particular oxybenzone and octinoxate, kill coral larvae, block their reproduction and cause "bleaching" "of the barrier.

When we do finally return to paradise, we recommend avoiding harmful sunscreens as the fines can be up to 100,000 baht, or around £2,240!