Marine Life & Conservation
Stream2Sea Founder Autumn Blum creates eco-conscious hand sanitizer and saves her company amidst COVID-19
Is your sanitizer reef safe?
As hand sanitizers become a part of our daily lives, Stream2Sea CEO and avid diver Autumn Blum says it’s time to take a hard look at the products on the market.
“When it all started, we were just happy to find sanitizers on store shelves so many of us didn’t take the time to read the ingredients,” she says. “If you look carefully though, some of those ingredients are pretty scary – for our coral reefs and for our own bodies.”
At the height of the pandemic, the government lifted restrictions and eased barriers for manufacturers to help reduce the shortage, but that inadvertently encouraged a flood of sub-standard products.
Even beyond the recall of sanitizers containing methanol, many commercial hand sanitizers are using ingredients that aren’t safe for people or the environment.
Microplastics in Sanitizers
Although microplastic beads have been banned from toothpastes and body lotions, many cosmetics still contain hidden microplastics. And hand sanitizer is no exception to that. More than 97% of the sanitizer gels on the market today contain ingredients commonly considered to be microplastics. These include acrylates copolymer and carbomer.
True to Stream2Sea’s planet-friendly mission, both sanitizer formulas are 100% natural, plant based and microplastic free.
All Alcohol Isn’t Created Equally
“Sanitizers are usually made with commercially denatured alcohol, which is just ethanol mixed with a substance that makes it unsuitable for human consumption and less likely to be consumed recreationally,” Blum said. “The most common alcohol being used for sanitizer is called SDA 40-B ethanol. It contains denatonium benzoate and tert-butanol, denaturants that are often not listed on product labels. After reading the SDS (safety data sheets) on these ingredients, I would never use them in our formulas, or intentionally put them on my body or near our waters.”
Among other warnings, the data sheets clearly state:
- May cause central nervous system depression.
- May be absorbed through the skin.
- Causes serious eye damage.
- Fatal if inhaled.
- Material may be irritating to the mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract.
Reading Labels Doesn’t Always Count
The FDA specifically includes the use of tert-butanol as a denaturant without requiring that it is listed on the label in a temporary policy implemented while hand sanitizers were in short stock. This goes against the standard policy for hand sanitizers, which are regulated as OTC drugs and typically require all ingredients be listed.
With its headquarters in Florida, Stream2Sea was able to secure locally produced ethanol made from distilled orange peels or sugarcane waste. Rather than chemical denaturants, Stream2Sea sanitizers are made ‘unedible’ using natural camphor and eucalyptus essential oils, both of which are traditionally used in herbal medicine. Rather than using propylene glycol – an ingredient found in both antifreeze and commercial sanitizers – as a moisturizer, Stream2Sea uses vegetarian glycerin and Vitamin E. The formula is extraordinarily effective as well. Challenge tests require sanitizers kill 99.99% of germs within 60 seconds; this was shown to be clinically effective in less than 15 seconds.
Keeping It Real: The Challenge of Selling Sanitizer During a Pandemic
A Crash Course for Blum
Learning the ins and outs of manufacturing sanitizer was a crash course for Blum, an award-winning cosmetic chemist who started Stream2Sea to make reef-safe sunscreens and body care products. “One day we were gearing up for a busy beach and cruise season, the next day we were pretty much shut down,” she said.
With a dozen employees and an idle FDA-registered manufacturing facility, making hand sanitizer was the answer to keeping her company going as the pandemic shut down many businesses.
“We’re all making compromises through this crisis but, as divers and as a nation, we need to be aware of the ingredients we are purchasing, so we know exactly what we’re putting on our bodies and spreading across our planet.
As our world and our dive centers gets back to business, “We look forward to continuing to educate divers about reef safe sunscreen and body care ingredients, and will now include sanitizers and microplastics in trainings.”
Source: www.divenewswire.com
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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