Guam bans skincare products containing reef-damaging substances
- Admin
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has signed into law a bill prohibiting the importation
of skincare products with chemicals that may hurt Guam’s marine ecosystems.
Vice Speaker Tony Ada’s Bill 35-38, now Public Law 38-5, bans cosmetics, hair
care, sunscreen, bath and shower products and other vanity items containing
oxybenzone, octinoxate, and octocrylene that may contribute to reef degradation.
“Our coral reefs are vital to Guam's coastal protection, marine biodiversity, and economy. By eliminating toxic pollutants, we align with global efforts to preserve marine life and promote sustainable alternatives,” Leon Guerrero said.
The new law requires the Department of Public Health and Social Services to maintain a list of banned skincare products that will be posted on its website and those of the Guam Department of Agriculture and the Guam Environmental Protection Agency. The list will be updated if a new product is added.
The new law was prompted by the U.S. National Park Service’s report that
sunscreen pollution “can have major impacts on corals, fish, mammals and the whole ecosystem.”
The report said chemical contamination can bleach or deform corals, and impair the growth of green
algae, an essential part of the food web.
In Hawaii, such contamination has affected at-risk
species such as the green sea turtle.
“Unfortunately, through water sampling around coral reef sites.,” states the new law. “The U.S. National Park Service has detected high concentrations of some of these harmful chemicals such as oxybenzone, octinoxate and avobenzone.”
Guam now joins other coastal jurisdictions such as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii, where personal care products are banned. In Palau, sunscreen products have been prohibited since 2020.
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Angelo Villagomez, an environmental organizer from the Northern Marianas, and James Servino, a human rights advocate from Guam, shared insights into the complexities and challenges of representing small, dispersed communities.action figure ai.
One time I was restocking skincare for a trip and realized I had no clue which products were actually safe for ocean use. While comparing ingredients across brands, I paused on something I’d used before and decided to check the musely phone number to clear things up about their formulations. Support was decent—they explained which products were reef-conscious and which weren’t. Stuff like that makes a difference when you’re heading somewhere like Guam, where the environment’s actually protected by law.