Palm & Pine Suncare are excited to announce the launch of their natural, plastic-free sunscreen brand; The first to promise sun protection without pollution. With the goal of stepping up the natural sunscreen market in Europe, Palm & Pine will offer an all-natural SPF 30 for general use, and high-factor face protection for the surf, snow, and outdoor market.

”Since relocating to sunny Portugal, my need for sunscreen increased so I wanted to find a natural alternative to the traditional chemical options available,'' says co-founder and CEO, Sarah Muir. “After being repeatedly disappointed by natural sunscreens, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Following some experimentation in the kitchen, myself and my partner, co-founder Ross Kemp, decided to formalise the idea and create our own brand.”

After testing a number of products, gathering insights from friends and associates, our opportunity began to emerge.

“We found that the USA and Australia are ahead of the game when it comes to natural sunscreen, with a multitude of brands on offer. When asking friends about their favourite natural sunscreen, the majority referred to non-European brands, particularly for surf protection. This led us to realise that there was an exciting opportunity to create a stylish, suncare brand, combining our love for minimalist design and leveraging the beauty and rising popularity of our chosen homeland, Portugal.”

This set the ball rolling for Palm & Pine suncare and the search for a European manufacturer began.

“Finding a natural skincare manufacturer in Europe was challenging. We needed to find a company who not only understood our eco mission but also our desire to innovate and take what is currently available and improve upon it. We were fortunate enough to find a company who were prepared to take on this challenge and explore innovative organic-based sun filters, developed in Europe. We have developed all-natural solutions that are kind to the skin, the environment, and most importantly are nice to use.”

When formulating the brand there were immediate factors that they were not prepared to compromise on.

“In researching products currently available, we saw a number of companies claiming ‘ocean-friendly (containing none of the chemicals deemed to damage marine life). The majority are, however, packaged in plastic or ‘eco’ plastics which have equally long degradation times. We saw an opportunity to be truly ocean-friendly, from product to packaging. Living beside the Atlantic ocean we are conscious of plastic pollution and decided that if we were to create a new skincare brand, we were committed to doing so without plastic - of any kind.”

The team are exploring fully compostable packaging solutions but state that it will be some time before these solutions are ready for cosmetic products. Palm & Pine will launch with aluminum product packaging and zero-plastic delivery solutions.

In addition to minimising the impact on the environment via the packaging, Palm & Pine also promises the following features and benefits;

All-natural ingredients

Protects against UVA/UVB Rays

Vegan

Water-resistant

Ocean-friendly and Reef-Safe

Free-from chemical preservatives & fragrances

Eye-lid safe & Lip safe

Baby-friendly