Britain’s America’s Cup contender, Land Rover BAR adopts eco-sunscreen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London Monday October 12th, 2015

Britain’s America’s Cup contender, Land Rover BAR adopts eco-sunscreen

London-based skincare company Aethic has partnered with Britain’s America’s Cup challenger, Land Rover BAR, to have its Sôvée eco-compatible sunscreen adopted as the only product that matches the team’s unique sustainability credentials. The challenger for the 35th America’s Cup was formed by the most successful sailor in Olympic history, Sir Ben Ainslie; winner of four Olympic gold medals, one silver and the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco.

The partnership will kick off with the team’s VIP guests being supplied with the product in Bermuda in mid-October where Land Rover BAR is engaged in the America’s Cup World Series to gain points ahead of the main event in 2017.

Land Rover BAR was the first British sports team to be awarded the Olympic-inspired international standard, ISO 20121 across all its activities, providing a framework for delivery of sustainable operations throughout the team. Land Rover BAR Sailing Team manager, Jono Macbeth commented, “With our sustainability ideals and our love of the ocean, Aethic Sôvée sunscreen is the only product that stood up to scrutiny. It provides great protection from sun damage, is very pleasant to use and leaves marine life untouched.”

A study published in National Geographic in 2008 by Prof Roberto Danovaro et al. of Marche Polytechnic University demonstrated that most sunscreens can cause terminal damage to coral and marine life. Aethic set out to develop a sunscreen that would not harm any marine life at all.

Tests with an approved protocol were carried out by the same team of scientists to gauge a range of ingredients for their eco-compatibility (biodegradable is not enough) and rejected those regularly chosen ingredients such as Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide which harmed marine life (a recent Spanish study corroborates this finding).

Left with a limited range of safe ingredients Sôvée sunscreen was then formulated and once again subjected to these tests in its final ‘product’ form. It passed the tests leaving coral and mussels intact. The formulation has subsequently been awarded a patent making Sôvée the only product to have true scientific validation as a basis for its claims.

Adds Allard Marx, Aethic CEO: “Partnering with Land Rover BAR means a lot to us. More and more sailing enthusiasts and ocean lovers will become aware of the damage inflicted on marine life by most sunscreens and will be offered Sôvée as superb conscience-free alternative”.

Contacts:
PR for Land Rover BAR: Sarah Alexander, sarah.alexander@landroverbar.com +447766391276
Aethic: Allard Marx, allard.marx@aethic.com, +447860205646
Damson PR: Abigail Stuart-Menteth, abigail@damsonpr.com, +44 7855 526550

About Aethic

Aethic is a London-based skincare company founded by Allard Marx. The company has innovated with Sôvée, a patented product. It believes that its products must outperform competitors’ in protecting skin from damage or restoring it to good health. Yet it must do

so without harming our planet with the oceans and marine life being the company’s primary focus.

Three face creams have just been introduced into the company’s range and other products are in the later stages of development.

Sôvée was launched in Selfridges in 2013 and is now stocked in Whole Foods and Beauty Works West in London, Brummellsoflondon.com, beyondorganic.com and aethic.com online as well as leading resort hotels around the world starting with COMO Hotels and Resorts.

Notes to editors:

1. Photo-stability is the measure of how long a sun filter actually works once subjected to sunlight. While many sun filters may have a 50 SPF, the may not actually function properly for very long.

2. Broad-spectrum coverage classification requires that a minimum number of rays be covered off. Sôvée uses 3 sun filters, (many products only use one or two) to arrive at the best possible broad-spectrum protection from the various frequencies of the sun’s rays within the UVA and UVB ranges. More info: www.ecocompatiblesunscreens.com

3. Coral reefs are under threat. Over the last fifty years, 80% of corals have been lost to coastal development and pollution. Although coral reefs cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, they are home to 25% of all marine fish species. At least 500 million people rely on coral reefs for food, coastal protection, and livelihoods. Coral reefs form natural barriers that protect nearby shorelines from the eroding forces of the sea, thereby protecting coastal dwellings, agricultural land and beaches. Coral reefs provide vital components in medicine – includes those for the treatment of cancer, HIV, cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, and other ailments.

4. Several commonly used sunscreen ingredients (including some of the most prevalent sun filters) can awaken dormant viruses in the algae, which enjoy a symbiotic co-existence with coral species. These chemicals can cause a viral and deathly epidemic in algae leaving coral with nothing to eat and ultimately to bleach and perish https://vimeo.com/gobluetoo

About Land Rover BAR

Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) was launched on June 10th 2014 in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. The team was conceived by four times Olympic gold medalist and 34th America’s Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie, with the long-term aim of challenging for Britain and bringing the America’s Cup back home to where it all began in 1851. Ben has developed and will lead a British entry capable of winning the prestigious trophy, something Britain has so far never managed to achieve.

Land Rover BAR is a commercial sporting team, with a number of individual private investors alongside corporate partners. The team is made up of some of the best British and international sailors, designers, builders and racing support.

Sports teams represent key role models in society. This privileged position is not taken for granted at Land Rover BAR. The team believes our influence should extend far beyond the racecourse, and have put sustainability at the heart of operations since launching the team with Sustainability Partner 11th Hour Racing in 2014.

The team has built a new headquarters in the centre of Portsmouth, the 74,000 sq ft. building houses all the team’s activities, and will welcome the public into a Visitor Centre hosted by the 1851 Trust. The Trust is the team’s official charity, and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge is its Royal Patron.

Portsmouth will also host a second Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series event on 21st-24th July 2016. Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to come and watch the racing, enjoy the festivities, and cheer for the home team.

LandRoverBAR.com #BringTheCupHome