Tourism Seychelles will be hosting a virtual conference on 20 March 2023 to address the continuing problem of toxic chemicals present in sun creams, skin care products and cosmetics that have a devastating impact on coral reefs around the globe.
‘Non Toxic 2023’, the world’s first ocean-safe suncare and cosmetics conference was announced at the year’s World Travel Market in London, and will be hosted at STORY Seychelles resort, together with reef-safe suncare brand People4Ocean.
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Speakers from around the world will gather to discuss the toxic nature of the chemicals that are used in the manufacture of many sun care products, the misleading labelling of some products claiming to be ‘ocean safe’, and the damage such products can do to coral reefs and other marine life.
The conference will be open to all resorts and retailers from across the Indian Ocean region, with the aim of educating its attendees on the dangers of toxic sun creams, and how to reduce the human impact on their local marine ecosystems by offering alternative products to customers.
The reduction of plastic waste will also be discussed, including biodegradable options for packaging as opposed to standard recycling practices, which the Indian Ocean’s island nations are unable to implement as they do not have the required infrastructure to recycle plastic bottles en masse.
A recent study by scientists from the University of Queensland, Australia, and the Wildlife Conservation Society has shown that just 13 per cent of the world’s oceans remain untouched by damaging human activities.
Huge fishing fleets, global shipping, and pollution running off the land are combining with climate change to degrade the oceans, according to the report’s authors, while just 5 per cent of the ocean has been designated as marine protected areas.
‘We were astonished by just how little marine wilderness remains,’ said lead researcher Kendall Jones. ‘The ocean is immense, covering over 70 per cent of our planet, but we’ve managed to significantly impact almost all of this vast ecosystem.’
More information on the conference and how to attend can be found at www.oceansafesuncream.com
