EcoSun Pass: A tool to evaluate the ecofriendliness of UV filters used in sunscreen products

OBJECTIVE: Sunscreens play a major role in the EU sun protection strategy in order to prevent humans from UV light‐induced skin damage. In recent years, the demand for high‐quality sunscreen products including aspects of broad range and photostability of the UV protection, showing good spreadability onto human skin and excellent sensorial properties during and after application has increased. Environmental aspects are considered. Sunscreens are complex compositions, with UV filters being the key element in the formulations reaching up to about 30% in content in the final product. Some of these ingredients, however, may be regarded as hazardous for the aquatic environment. Nevertheless, the aquatic ecosystem represents only a single environmental compartment, which may be impacted by UV filters. Therefore, the EcoSun Pass (ESP) tool was developed in order to assess the overall environmental impact of UV filters in combination with its efficacy (Sun Protection Factor, SPF and UVA Protection Factor, UVA‐PF). METHODS: For that purpose, at first 24 of the EU‐approved UV filters for sunscreen applications were evaluated for their environmental hazard profiles. Nine example UV filter compositions representing both SPF 30 and 50 were evaluated for ecofriendliness using the ESP tool. RESULTS: The results revealed that two out of four SPF 30 compositions are considered as ecofriendly. Likewise, from the SPF 50 two out of five did meet the criteria for ecofriendliness. Furthermore, the results showed that most ecofriendly example formulations have also the lowest overall UV filter content in the product, based on the use of highly innovative and least hazardous UV filters. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the tool is applicable to various formulations being present on the market and thus allows for a selection of most ecofriendly and efficient UV filters to be used in sunscreens.