EWG Releases 2019 Sunscreen Guide

The Environmental Working Group has released its annual sunscreen guide, which is larger than ever before. In its 2019 report, EWG said it “assessed more than 1,300 products with SPF, including 750 currently available beach and sport sunscreens, and found that about two-thirds still offer inferior sun protection or contain concerning ingredients, such as oxybenzone, a potentially hormone-disrupting chemical that is readily absorbed by the body.” According to EWG, its researchers found more than 260 sunscreens that meet its criteria for safety and efficacy and would “likely meet the proposed FDA standards.”

Cosmetics industry experts note that EWG erroneously suggests that the majority of sunscreens on the market wouldn’t meet the US Food and Drug Administration’s safety standards, an error that could lead consumers to question regular application of sunscreen.

“The FDA has not said that,” noted Michael Werner, an attorney with Holland & Knight, a law firm that represents The Public Access to SunScreens (PASS) Coalition. “To suggest that FDA has said that is inaccurate and counter to important public health measures.”

PASS notes that there is value in the EWG report. For example, the guide includes advice on making regular use of sunscreen a part of sun safety behavior. Furthermore, EWG’s guide points out that a serious sunburn when one is young could have major health implications when one gets older.

“Our concern is that we have a real public health problem (with rising skin cancer rates) and that there is a lot of misinformation about sunscreens,” explained Werner. “EWG sends mixed messaging that sunscreens could be dangerous.”

Werner admits that there is a whole suite of issues surrounding sunscreens, such as getting new sunscreens approved and FDA’s call for more data on existing ingredients.

“There are a lot of things to unpack, but there are no questions that people should be wearing sunscreen. There is a public health risk if they don’t,” he insisted.