Whilst Bermuda is just over 53 square kilometres in size, the natural coral reefs that surround the island are almost ten times the size of it. “The reefs are such a part of us here in Bermuda,” says Jennifer Paige, cofounder of clean beauty boutique Cassine. “We are connected heart, soul and mind to the ocean. We can’t lose it.”
It was this passion for the ocean that led Paige, together with her daughter Mia Chambray, to set up the business which is built on the importance of reef-safe sunscreen. It launched in 2018 after Paige witnessed a slick of oil left behind by swimmers at Blue Hole. Realising that it had been caused by their sunscreen, she read up on the subject and was appalled to learn of the damaging effects of octinoxate and oxybenzone, which have been proven to disrupt coral growth and reproduction, cause coral bleaching and harm marine life.
In 2020 the Pacific Islands nation of Palau became the first country to officially ban the use of conventional sunscreens due to their reef damaging properties. The US Virgin Islands and Hawaii swiftly followed, as did certain parts of Mexico and Belize, alongside Aruba and Bonaire. Despite talks with the government initiated by Paige and Chambray several years ago, Bermuda has yet to enforce the same legislation and reef toxic sunscreens remain the most used on the island.
The approach at Cassine is both about prevention and protection, and the boutique donates part of the proceeds of all sales to the Living Reefs Foundation, a registered charity dedicated to preserving Bermuda’s coral reefs. “The Living Reefs Foundation was at the heart and the start of our business platform,” explains Chambray. “We wanted to do something to really make a difference, as much as we could. Everybody who shops with us makes a difference, truly, and in many ways—they’re buying clean, they’re supporting local business and they’re also supporting this incredible charity which is doing not only localised work, but globalised work. Because what they are working on is a blueprint for other scientists around the world who are also witnessing coral depletion and extinction. It’s paramount.”
The Living Reefs Foundation’s work is split into two main projects. Their signature Coral Garden initiative, which launched in 2016, focuses on the production of juvenile corals in a land-based farm, known as a hatchery, at their Coney Island headquarters. Once matured enough to withstand the natural environment, these are transferred to the underwater Coral Garden in Castle Harbour, where they are placed under protective frames and cared for until they reach the point at which they become self-sustaining. They are then planted directly onto the seabed.
Two years ago, the Living Reefs Foundation launched the Blue Barrier project, which enhances Bermuda’s coastal protection by planting corals on the breakwaters at the causeway, fusing man-made materials with the natural protection of the reef. “Coral reefs in Bermuda are recognised to be the best breakwater against storm and hurricane waves. Models show that they dissipate up to 85 percent of the storm waves,” explains Dr Samia Sarkis, director of research and development for the Living Reefs Foundation. “If you have a reef that’s damaged, instead of dissipating the waves up to 85 percent, it’ll dissipate the waves up to 40 percent or 50 percent, which has a huge impact on the coast, and on the infrastructure of the coast.”
The project has so far been hugely successful, with the corals planted on the breakwater having a 98 percent survival rate. “The idea is that you’re taking what is essentially a dead barrier and you’re turning it into a living barrier because as the corals grow, they eventually will span several boulders. In a sense they cement the boulders together,” says Dr Sarkis. “They fortify that breakwater, but also it becomes a living barrier. You have more corals. You have more fish. You end up creating a reef.”
Much of Cassine’s support for the Living Reefs Foundation is in advocating for their work and amplifying their voice. Last summer Mia Chambray visited the Coral Garden, where together with a marine biologist, she planted a coral which had been grown in the hatchery. She documented the process on social media and in Cassine’s newsletter. It caught the eye of one of their customers who sits on Chubb’s Charitable Giving Foundation. The two had coffee and she told them more about the charity and the importance of their work. Twelve months later, Chubb announced a three-year $300,000 grant to the Living Reefs Foundation in support of their work to preserve Bermuda’s coral reefs.
The multi-year grant marks a significant turning point for the organisation which, up until this point, has relied on university students in the summer alongside a single full-time member of staff. “The Chubb grant has given us the ability to conduct our work continuously,” explains Dr Sarkis. “Up to now we’ve received a lot of funding and we’re very appreciative of it, but it has been small pots of money given ad hoc on a yearly basis. This makes it very difficult to judge the budget and that makes it very difficult to hire people on a permanent basis. It’s been very much a stop-go research and work approach.”
Dr Sarkis is currently in the process of hiring a second permanent member of staff, as a first step in growing the team further. “I’m hoping that with the other donations we receive, that we can hire a second junior staff member,” she says. “We’re hoping that the Chubb donation is going to inspire others to commit to a multi-year grant, especially from some of the donors that have been donating for several years now. To have that commitment ahead of time is much more secure.” The aim is to reach a permanent staff of five, which would allow them to run both the laboratory and their field-based work full time. Currently they have a team of six in the summer months, made up of university students on summer placements, and Dr Sarkis alone year-round. The laboratory shuts down entirely in the fall when the students return to school and stays closed in the winter months.
A bigger staff would also allow for more continuity in, and data from, their experiments. “Our main research focus is how to accelerate the coral growth in the hatchery so that we can put them out to the natural environment as quickly as possible,” explains Dr Sarkis. Currently it takes between 18 months and two years before the juvenile corals are ready to be planted on the seabed. The aim is to take it down to eight months. The Chubb donation has also given them the opportunity to invest in new technology. “We’ve purchased a brilliant state-of-the-art automated spawning system, which simulates the lunar cycle,” says Sarkis. “You can invert the photo period. Usually corals spawn at nighttime, which makes it very difficult when you’re trying to set up experiments. There, you can invert the photo period so that they spawn during the day. You can regulate the water temperature; the moon rise and the moon set.” The team are currently running their first trial with the automated system.
Of the unique way in which the donation came together, Chambray says: “We are all singing from the same hymn sheet, but we’re in different parts of the community. It’s all interconnected. The reef is a community, just like Bermuda. It’s a mirror. Cassine is part of this bigger picture, and so is Chubb, and so is the Living Reefs Foundation. Just like in a coral reef.” She adds, “One thing I thought about when the donation was announced, with us being a multi-generational family business and this being a multi-year donation, is that this is a forever changing contribution that Chubb has made. Because this coral reef is going to be around forever, long after we’re gone. And that’s breathtaking.”
