Terms of use

1. Agreement

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Reef Label LLC (“Reef Label LLC,” “we,” “us” or “our”), of 153 E Kamehameha Ave, Kahului, Hawaii 96732. They govern access to and use of reeflabel.com, its Markdown andllms.txt versions, the ingredient checker, the product finder, and all text, data, verdicts and tools we publish (together, the “Site”), whether by a person, a browser or an automated system.

By accessing or using the Site you accept the Terms and our Privacy page, which is part of them. If you do not accept them, do not use the Site. If you use the Site for an organization, you confirm that you may bind it, and “you” includes it. The Site is not directed to children under 13. If you are under 18, use it only with a parent or guardian’s permission.

2. What the Site is

Reef Label is an independent publisher of general reference information about sunscreen laws and sunscreen ingredients. We are not a law firm, a government agency, a certifier, a testing laboratory, a retailer or a healthcare provider. Nothing on the Site is legal, medical, regulatory, environmental, scientific or professional advice, and using the Site does not create an attorney–client, doctor–patient or any other advisory or fiduciary relationship between you and us. No government body has reviewed or endorsed the Site.

3. Verdicts and their limits

What a verdict is. A verdict (for example “allowed,” “not allowed” or “unverified”) is the output of a method described on our methodology page. It compares the active ingredients we recorded for a product against the text of a law, ordinance, regulation or official guidance as we read it, on the date shown on the page. It is a statement of our opinion and reading of public records.

What a verdict is not. A verdict is not a finding that any product or seller has complied with or violated any law, a statement that a product is or is not safe, effective or harmful to people or marine life, a certification, an endorsement, or a guarantee that a regulator, retailer or court will agree. We do not describe any product as “reef safe.” That is a marketing term with no legal definition, and we do not test products.

Dates. “Last verified” means we re-read the cited sources on that date. It does not mean the law, the formula or the source is unchanged since then. Formulas change without notice, labels vary by size, region and production batch, and laws are amended, repealed, enjoined and enforced in ways we may not yet have recorded.

Sources. We rely on records we do not control, including government gazettes and codes, FDA and DailyMed filings, and brand websites and packaging. Those records can be wrong, incomplete, out of date or inconsistent with each other. We may simplify, summarize or omit exemptions, definitions, effective dates and enforcement practice. If a source and the Site differ, the source controls.

4. Your responsibility

You are solely responsible for deciding whether to buy, sell, import, bring, distribute, use, recommend or advertise any product, and for complying with every law that applies to you. Before relying on anything here, read the label on the product in your hand and confirm the current rule with the governing authority or qualified counsel. Do not use the Site as the sole basis for any business, legal, compliance, purchasing, travel or medical decision.

If you are a retailer, distributor, manufacturer, importer, hotel, tour or dive operator, or other business, you accept sole responsibility for your own compliance, labeling, marketing claims and inventory. A verdict that a product is “allowed” does not prevent enforcement, and a verdict that it is “not allowed” is not a finding that anyone has broken the law. We are not liable for any fine, penalty, seizure, confiscation, refusal of entry, recall, loss of sales or other consequence of acting or not acting on the Site.

5. Health, safety and environment

Sun exposure can cause sunburn, skin damage and skin cancer, and sunscreen ingredients can cause allergic and other reactions. Use sunscreen as its label directs, and talk to a physician or dermatologist about your own skin, medicines, allergies and sun protection. Do not delay or forgo medical care because of anything on the Site. The Site makes no representation about how any ingredient, product or practice affects coral reefs, marine life, water quality or any person’s health. Scientific understanding and regulatory positions on these questions change.

6. Ingredient checker

The ingredient checker runs in your browser and compares the text you enter against our ingredient data and rules. It can misread abbreviations, spellings, punctuation, formatting, truncated lists and ingredients we have not recorded, and its result is only as good as the text you give it. Its output is a convenience, not a determination about any product, and is subject to sections 3, 4, 15 and 16.

7. Places outside the US

Many places we cover are outside the United States. Our entries for them are unofficial English-language summaries of sources that may be in another language, may have been translated by us or by others, and may differ from the authoritative text. We make no representation that the Site is complete, accurate or appropriate for any location. You access it from outside the United States at your own initiative and are responsible for complying with local law.

8. Brands and trademarks

All brand names, product names, logos, packaging and product images belong to their owners and are used only to identify the products discussed. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any brand, manufacturer or retailer listed, and no brand has paid us to appear or to change a verdict. We link to brand-hosted product images rather than copy them, and we do not control them.

Brand owners and other rights-holders may ask us to correct a factual error or remove an image or other material by sending a notice to the address in section 21 that identifies the page, the material, the correction or removal sought and the basis for it. We review notices in good faith, may ask for documentation such as a current label or filing, and will correct verifiable errors. We are not required to change a verdict that correctly applies a rule to a record, to remove accurate information, or to alter our opinions.

9. Third-party content and links

The Site links to and loads material from third parties, including government sources, brand websites, Google Analytics and Google Fonts. We do not control, endorse or take responsibility for that material, its availability, its accuracy or its privacy practices, and your use of it is governed by the third party’s terms. A link is not a recommendation.

10. Our content and your license

Ownership. As between you and us, we own the Site, including its text, design, code, verdict engine and rules, the selection, arrangement and compilation of its data, and our trademarks, subject to the rights of third parties in the material described in sections 8 and 9. Facts and public legal texts are not ours, but our compilation of them is. Except for the license below, no rights are granted by implication, estoppel or otherwise, and we reserve all of them.

License. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to view the Site and to quote, summarize, link to and cite its content, for any lawful purpose including news reporting, research, education and commentary, on these conditions: (a) you attribute Reef Label and link to the page you used where practicable; (b) you state the verdict and the “last verified” date accurately and do not present a verdict as legal advice, a certification or a statement of the law itself; (c) you do not imply that we endorse you or your products or services; and (d) your use does not breach section 11 or 12. Our citation guide shows suggested wording.

Not permitted without our prior written consent: republishing or redistributing all or a substantial part of the Site or its dataset, in any format; building a database, product or service that substitutes for the Site; removing or obscuring attribution, notices or dates; or using our name or marks other than to refer to the Site accurately. We reserve all rights not expressly granted, including all rights to authorize or refuse text and data mining beyond the permitted uses above.

11. Automated access

We publish Markdown versions and an llms.txt file so that search engines, assistants and other software can read the Site. You may access the Site with automated tools to read pages, answer a question and cite us under the conditions in section 10. Do not use automated means to place unreasonable load on the Site, to evade rate limits or blocks, to access anything not intended to be public, or to copy the dataset in bulk. We may block any client, address or account at any time. If you operate an automated system that presents our content to others, it should name Reef Label as the source, give the page’s last-verified date, and not state a verdict more strongly than the page does.

12. Acceptable use

You will not: (a) violate any law or any third party’s rights; (b) interfere with, overload or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, its hosting or related systems; (c) introduce malware or probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Site without our written permission; (d) use the Site to harass, defraud or mislead anyone, including by misrepresenting a verdict, a date or our relationship with you; or (e) use the Site where applicable sanctions or export laws prohibit you from doing so.

13. Feedback and corrections

If you send us a correction, suggestion, document or other feedback, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, modify and publish it for any purpose without attribution or payment, and you confirm that you have the right to do so. We are not obliged to act on it, to keep it confidential, or to respond. Do not send us information you consider confidential or privileged.

14. Copyright complaints

The Site does not host content submitted by the public. If you believe material on it infringes your copyright, send a written notice to the address in section 21 that identifies the work, identifies the infringing material and where it appears, gives your contact details, states that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent or the law, states under penalty of perjury that the notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner, and includes your signature. We may remove or disable access to material we believe to be infringing and may end a person’s access if they repeatedly infringe. Knowingly misrepresenting that material is infringing can carry liability.

15. Disclaimer of warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT, VERDICTS, DATA AND TOOLS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, RELIABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT ANY VERDICT IS CORRECT OR CURRENT, OR THAT RELYING ON THE SITE WILL SATISFY ANY LEGAL REQUIREMENT OR PRODUCE ANY RESULT. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, ORAL OR WRITTEN, FROM US OR THROUGH THE SITE CREATES A WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS.

16. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, REEF LABEL LLC AND ITS OWNERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, LICENSORS AND SUCCESSORS (THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE CLAIMING THROUGH YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, GOODWILL, DATA OR OPPORTUNITY, OR FOR ANY FINE, PENALTY, SEIZURE OR COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SITE OR THESE TERMS, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY (CONTRACT, TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, STATUTE OR OTHERWISE), EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THOSE DAMAGES.

THE TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SITE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (US$100). YOU AGREE THAT THE SITE IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE, THAT THESE LIMITS REFLECT A FAIR ALLOCATION OF RISK, THAT WE WOULD NOT PUBLISH THE SITE WITHOUT THEM, AND THAT THEY APPLY EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for fraud or willful misconduct. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limits, so some of the above may not apply to you; in that case our liability is limited to the smallest amount the law allows.

17. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you will defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, penalty, cost and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to (a) your use of the Site; (b) your breach of the Terms; (c) your violation of any law or third party’s rights; or (d) any product you make, sell, import, distribute, market or recommend, or any decision you make in reliance on the Site. We may assume control of the defense of any matter, and you will not settle one without our written consent.

18. Governing law and disputes

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT REQUIRES MOST DISPUTES TO BE RESOLVED BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND LIMITS YOUR RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT OR TO JOIN A CLASS ACTION. YOU MAY OPT OUT AS DESCRIBED BELOW.

(a) Governing law. These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Site are governed by the laws of the State of Hawaii and applicable United States federal law, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section 18.

(b) Informal resolution first. Before starting any arbitration or lawsuit, you will send a written notice under section 21 describing the claim and the relief you seek, and the parties will try in good faith to resolve it for at least 60 days. A demand for arbitration filed before that period ends may be dismissed without prejudice.

(c) Binding individual arbitration. Except as stated in (e), you and we agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the Site or these Terms, including their formation, interpretation, breach, enforceability or termination, and any claim in contract, tort, statute or otherwise, will be resolved only by final and binding arbitration before a single arbitrator administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (or, if you are using the Site for business purposes, its Commercial Arbitration Rules) in effect when the demand is filed. If the AAA is unable or unwilling to administer the arbitration, the parties will use JAMS or, failing that, a court may appoint an arbitrator. The seat of arbitration is Maui County, Hawaii, although a hearing for an individual may be held by video or telephone if that party prefers. The arbitrator decides all questions of arbitrability, including whether this agreement is valid and applies, except that a court decides the enforceability of (d). The arbitrator must apply the Terms, including sections 3 to 5 and 15 to 17, may award only the relief the law and the Terms allow to the individual claimant, and must give a written decision with reasons. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction. We will pay the filing, administrative and arbitrator fees that the AAA’s rules require the business to pay, and each party otherwise bears its own attorneys’ fees unless the law or the arbitrator’s rules provide otherwise.

(d) No class or representative actions. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you and we may bring claims only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, representative or private attorney general proceeding, and the arbitrator may not consolidate claims or preside over any such proceeding. If this paragraph is found unenforceable as to a claim or request for relief, that claim or request, and only that one, will be heard in court under (f), and the rest of the dispute will be arbitrated.

(e) What is not arbitrated. Either party may (i) bring an individual claim in small-claims court in the County of Maui, Hawaii, or where you live, if it qualifies; (ii) seek injunctive or other equitable relief in court to stop or prevent infringement or misuse of intellectual property or violation of section 11 or 12; and (iii) bring any claim that applicable law does not permit to be arbitrated.

(f) Court proceedings. For any dispute that is not arbitrated, including after a valid opt-out, each party submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state courts located in the County of Maui, Hawaii, and the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, and waives any objection based on inconvenient forum.

(g) Multiple similar claims. If 25 or more demands raising substantially similar claims are filed against us by the same lawyer or coordinated group, the parties will ask the AAA to administer them in batches of no more than 25, with the fees due on later batches deferred until earlier ones are decided, and to appoint one arbitrator per batch. A court may enforce this paragraph.

(h) Your right to opt out. You may opt out of arbitration and of (d) within 30 days after you first use the Site by sending an email to [email protected] with the subject “Arbitration opt-out,” or a letter to the address in section 21, that includes your name and a clear statement that you opt out. Opting out does not affect any other part of the Terms. If you do not opt out, you are bound by this section for any dispute that arose before or arises after you accepted the Terms.

(i) Jury waiver and time limit. FOR ANY DISPUTE THAT IS HEARD IN COURT, EACH PARTY, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. Any claim must be filed within one (1) year after it accrues, or it is permanently barred, to the extent the law allows a shorter period.

(j) Survival and severability. This section survives the end of your access to the Site. If any part of it other than (d) is found unenforceable, that part is severed and the rest remains in force.

19. Changes and suspension

We may change the Site and these Terms at any time. A revised version takes effect when posted, with a new effective date at the top of this page; continuing to use the Site afterward means you accept it. Changes apply going forward and do not revive claims that were already released or barred. We may suspend or end your access, or discontinue any part of the Site, at any time and without liability. Sections 3 to 5, 8, 10, 13 and 15 to 21 survive any end of your access.

20. General terms

Entire agreement. The Terms and the Privacy page are the entire agreement between you and us about the Site and supersede any prior understanding. Severability. If a provision is held unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the rest of the Terms will continue in effect. No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them freely, including to a successor to the Site. No third-party beneficiaries.Except for the Released Parties, nobody else has rights under these Terms. Relationship. You and we are independent; no partnership, agency or employment results from your use of the Site. Force majeure. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including outages of hosting, network or third-party services. Interpretation. Headings are for convenience; “including” means “including without limitation”; the Terms are not construed against either party as drafter. Electronic communications. You consent to receive notices from us by posting on the Site. Equitable relief. Your breach of sections 10 to 12 may cause us harm for which damages would be inadequate, and we may seek injunctive relief without posting a bond.

21. Notices and contact

Send legal notices, corrections, takedown requests and copyright complaints by email to [email protected], or by mail or courier to:

Reef Label LLC
Attn: Legal
153 E Kamehameha Ave
Kahului, Hawaii 96732

An emailed notice is effective on the next business day after it is sent unless the sender receives a delivery failure message; a mailed notice is effective when received. A notice of claim under section 18 must be sent by mail or courier as well as by email. We may reply to you by any contact details you provide.

Version effective October 15, 2026. See also Privacy and how to cite us.