DALLAS — Kimberly Clark’s Tony Palmer, who has served as president of global brands and Innovation at the Fortune 150 leading company, has announced his departure effective April 2. Palmer, who co-founded TropicSport reef-friendly mineral sunscreen and skincare line with his wife, Lisa Palmer, will work full time in the business as chief executive officer, a decision he made on the heels of the FDA’s recent measures to regulate the sunscreen market by calling attention to the potential dangers that the majority of U.S. approved sunscreen active ingredients pose.

“With the FDA’s announcement, Hawaii’s recent ban and Key West recognizing the serious dangers of chemical sunscreens, the public is just now becoming aware of the toxicity risks to their bodies and environment posed by what they thought was protection from skin cancer,” said Palmer, “It’s like the early years when we began to unwrap and truly understand the dangers of nicotine. This is why mineral based sunscreens are growing in demand, and we see a massive growth opportunity for TropicSport.”

The recent FDA announcement stated that the ingredients in 96% of sunscreens are not adequately proven safe. In fact, 12 sunscreen active ingredients are being questioned by the FDA because of their safety risks when absorbed in the skin and bloodstream. Additionally, studies have found Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, two common ingredients in popular sunscreens, are potentially toxic to the environment and humans. As a result, Hawaii and Key West, Fla. have already passed legislation to ban them.

TropicSport has raised close to $6 million to date and is currently raising additional capital to build the brand, expand distribution channels and accelerate growth to position it as the leading mineral-based sunscreen brand and global leader in products that are both safe and effective for the environment and humans.