The political power of small businesses : analysing the Hawaiian toxic sunscreen ban

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Master Thesis Political Science, Public Policy & Governance

The Political Power of Small Businesses: Analysing the

Hawaiian Toxic Sunscreen Ban

Meike Brouwer (12146781)

Transnational Sustainability Governance

Supervisor: Philip Schleifer

Second Reader: Luc Fransen

21 June 2019

Word Count: 19.710

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Abstract

Surprisingly little is known about the political business power of small businesses who strive to influence the political policy-making process. This thesis presents an analytical framework and demonstrates, at the hand of the Ban Toxic Sunscreen case which took place in Hawaii from 2016-2018, how small businesses are able to use the same forms of political power as large multinationals to influence the political policy-making process. While large

multinational companies often make use of instrumental and structural power to influence political actors, small businesses mostly make use of discursive power to do so. This thesis will reveal that although small businesses do make use of lobbying as a form of political business power, shaping the norms and ideas of the general public is much more valuable. Not only are small businesses able to frame issues in a specific way that will benefit their case. The shaping of norms and ideas can be done through low cost means, which are more accessible than the costly act of lobbying a specific political actor. These insights will be able to create a more nuanced illustration of how small businesses make use of political business power to influence the policy-making process.

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1. Introduction

1.1. Chemical sunscreen pollution

Marine pollution is not a new phenomenon in this day and age. It is publicly known that for years humanity has dumped numerous types of waste in the earth’s oceans. A reason for this manner of trash disposal has to do with the fact that scientists were of the opinion that the ocean was so vast that all trash would be diluted and would not have a lasting effect on marine life (National Geographic, 2010). Although annually still almost 6.3 billion kilograms of trash is dumped into the ocean (Conserve Energy Future, n.d.;

Seastewards, n.d.), most communities are aware of this destructive behaviour and have made efforts to change their behaviours. Examples of these behavioural changes can be observed through initiatives such as The Ocean Clean Up, where a system was developed to catch and concentrate plastic by using natural oceanic forces (The Ocean Cleanup, n.d.), or the banning of single-use plastic in Europe and Bali, Indonesia (Britton, 2019; The Straits Times, 2018). Although both of these examples were very much celebrated for making a positive change to marine life, it was the toxic sunscreen ban that Hawaii implemented on July 3rd_{2018 that shook society.}

After years of research Dr. Craig Downs, executive director of Haereticus

Environmental Laboratory, and his colleagues published a research paper which established that a common chemical, oxybenzone, used in many over-the-counter sunscreens and other cosmetic products, poses an ecological and existential threat to corals and coral reefs

(Downs et al., 2016). These remarkable results were presented by Dr. Downs at the 2016 International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu and immediately led to initiation of a proposed ban on all products containing oxybenzone by the Hawaiian State Senator. Although this ban would never go into effect, it did trigger many small businesses to get involved with this topic and use their political business power to influence politics and the policy-making process. As mentioned above, after 2 years of hard work and by working closely together, small businesses where able to influence the policy-making process in such a way that all over-the-counter sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate will be banned as of January 1st_{2021 (Relating to Water Pollution, 2018). By introducing this toxic}

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conservation. But what is more admirable is the fact that several small businesses have been able to work together to influence politics and the policy-making output in their favor, something that was thought to be done solely by large multinational companies. This view on political business power can also be traced back to the academic literature as there is currently a lack of research on small business influence in the political sphere, which is not the case when looking at large multinational companies.

1.2. Research question

The focus of this research is on determining and understanding the tools and techniques through which small businesses are able to obtain and make use of political power and if these are identical to the methods used by large multinationals to influence the public sphere. This analysis will be executed by determining which types of strategies are employed by large multinationals and applying these strategies to the behaviour expressed by stakeholders in the Toxic Sunscreen Ban. To be able to gain more insight into this phenomenon as well as expand business political power theory, the following research question is proposed:

How are small businesses able to use the same forms of political power as large multinationals to influence the political policy-making process?

By making use of a practice-oriented approach to analyse the political power of businesses, this research will show how small businesses are able to use the same forms of political power as large multinationals. Furthermore, the framework adopted in this analysis addresses the existing gap in the current literature in which small businesses are able to administer power to the public sphere.

1.3. Key findings

At the hand of Fuchs' (2005) framework on political business power, this thesis will identify that small businesses are in general able to make use of the same forms of political power as large multinational companies to influence the political policy-making process, albeit in a different, more creative, manner than large multinational companies would.

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When looking at the first form of political power, namely instrumental power, research has shown that a select group of small businesses make use of this power. Businesses that do make use of this power solely focus on lobbying as they do not have the resources to donate to campaign or party funds. This lack of resources as well as an insufficient

influential position has led to small businesses not making use of structural power. In this specific case, small businesses simply did not have enough predominance to influence local politics in such a way. The last form of political business power, discursive power, can be classified as a form of power that is not used much by large multinational companies as changing the discourse of the general public takes time and usually does not result in the desired outcome. However, with regard to small businesses, this research shows that discursive power was widely used by all key players to influence the policy-making process with regard to the Ban Toxic Sunscreen bill. By shaping the norms and ideas of the general public in Hawaii at the hand of social media, education, sponsorship and news media outlets, small businesses were able to, by extension, influence local politicians and the policy-making outcome in their favour. This form of political power was especially successful as it was very low cost. All tools that were used to shape the norms and ideas of the general public were mostly free of cost and although small businesses were not able to donate funds, they were able to donate their time and expertise to influence local politicians. As a result of the aforementioned, discursive power can be seen as an excellent form of political business power for small businesses who strive to influence the political policy-making process. Lastly, it has become apparent that non-profit organizations also make use of influential strategies to shape the political policy-making process, however in different ways than the ones mentioned in this research. A potential next research step in this topic would be to compare small business strategies with non-profit organization strategies and

determine if these entities make use of the same methods to influence the political policy-making process.

1.4. Societal relevance

The societal relevance of this research connects to the social and environmental effects relating to the banning of toxic sunscreens. Marine pollution is a development that not only has detrimental effects on the environmental, but also on society as a whole. As

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there are many causes to this issue of which none are easy to solve, marine pollution can be classified as a wicked problem. For the outsider this problem seems like it is too large and too difficult to fix, yet many governments, communities and the population as a whole are troubled with this issue. To counter marine pollution and sustain the planet as we know it, corporations in many forms, in addition to governments, have set up different initiatives and business models to minimize their footprint. Multiple initiatives, such as The Ocean

Cleanup or the banning of single use plastic in Europe and Bali, are attempting to counter

the damage that has already occurred (Britton, 2019; The Ocean Cleanup, n.d.; The Straits Times, 2018). However more needs to be done to sustain the environment. It is evident that governments do not have the capacity to implement the needed arrangements to solve this wicked problem and that society as a whole will need to cooperate to solve this issue. This gap can be best filled by businesses who strive toward a positive change in the world. Currently corporations are perceived as large entities that abuse their power to their own desire. This research will show that this political business power should not be seen as bad: political business power is able to achieve that what governments are unable to. By

accepting this influence as positive, this research will be able to demonstrate to the general public that political business is in fact beneficial to society as a whole.

1.5. Academic relevance

The academic relevance of this research connects with the broader debate on political business power with regard to legitimacy in the policy-making process. In the last decade it has become clear that large multinational companies are increasingly able to influence public policy-making authority, yet this phenomenon has been around since the 1970s (Business Insider, 2015; Cashore, 2002). During this period, US Congress passed a series of new regulations that would focus on environmental and consumer safety matters and the business community did not have the political will or capacity to stop it. However, these new regulations, in combination with a declining economy released the, up till then unrealized, political potential of American businesses. From that moment onwards,

corporations started paying attention to politics and begun hiring lobbyists for the first time. But it did not stop there, to be able to get the political maximum out of their efforts

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companies started funding campaigns, putting issues on the political agenda and even making rules to benefit their business strategies (Business Insider, 2015; Monbiot, 2014).

The current academic environment shows that we are living in an intriguing period where different types of governmental institutions are forming, however it is important to note that this is not a new phenomenon. In their Editors’ Introduction: Mapping Changes in

Transnational Hale and Held (2011), argue that a clear shift in governance has occurred:

regulations are not only being formed by national politicians, they are also being formulated by government networks, international bureaucrats and industries. Specifically, when looking at environmental regulations, it has become evident that many nations are unable to implement and enforce rules and regulations to safeguard the earth's natural resources: giving non-state actors an opportunity to engage in transnational governance, as well as implement and enforce rules and regulations that nations are incapable of (Abbott and Snidal, 2008; Green, 2010; Hale and Held, 2011). Bartley (2018) has been able to identify three ways of engagement in governance that are able to successfully influence the policy-making process. These manners can be identified as: actively sponsoring and partially taking part in governance; the inhibition of the expansion of global governance; and lastly,

providers of direct global governance. When taking a closer look at the relevant literature, it is clear that many scholars have focused on the types of measures corporations are able to take to influence global governance. A large group looks specifically at instrumental power, namely lobbying, and the different facets that can be attributed to this approach (Clapp, 2003; Keller, 2018; Lindblom, 1977; Meckling, 2011; Werner, 2011). Whereas others look at another form of engagement that can be identified as structural power. In this form of power corporations are involved in the creation and maintenance of rules and regulations (Clapp, 1998; Hindmoor and Mcgeechan, 2013; Lindblom, 1977). What is striking, is that all these forms of engagement relate to large corporations only. While the above-mentioned scholars have uncovered the behaviour of large corporations relating to political business power, no acknowledgements are made in relation to small businesses and how these forms of power relate to them. In an attempt to fill this gap, the general focus of this thesis is to build upon this understanding of political business power to further refine this topic with regard to small businesses. Here a single case study is especially well suited, as it allows for an in-depth analysis of how small businesses are able to use political business power. Lastly,

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this analysis will be able to contribute to our overall understanding of how businesses are able to use their power to influence governance.

1.6. Structure

This thesis will proceed as follows: Chapter 2 will present a detailed review of the literature on political business power. The literature review will show that there is a critical gap in the normative literature regarding political business power of small businesses. Chapter 3 follows with the theoretical framework that will be used during this research. Drawing on perceptions developed with respect to political business power, this chapter presents the theoretical definitions on which the thesis’ argument will build upon. Focussing on three different forms of political power, namely instrumental power, structural power and discursive power. Chapter 4 will aim its attention at the methodological approach of this thesis, discussing research design, case selection, data collection, as well as validity, reliability and replicability implications. Chapter 5 will discuss the development and

significance of the Ban Toxic Sunscreen Initiative, as well as give an overview of the objective of the initiative and the key players. In chapters 6 and 7 respectively, the theoretical

framework shall be applied to the Ban Toxic Sunscreen Initiative, analysing how each form of power relates to the case. The last empirical chapter, Chapter 8, will integrate chapter 6 and 7 by demonstrating which forms of power are used by small businesses. The last chapter, Chapter 9 will conclude with a summary and discussion of the main findings and will close with highlighting the next step to be taken in this field of research.

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2. Literature Review

2.1. The privileged position of the large corporation

As Hale and Held (2011: 1) mention in their Editors’ Introduction: Mapping Changes

in Transnational Governance “governance institutions alter over time, often dramatically”.

For as long as humans have been on this planet they have governed themselves through monarchies, empires, communes, tribes, republics, dictatorships and anything that in-between. Furthermore, history shows that not only are agreements made on a national level, they are also made on a transnational, supranational and global scale. Examples of these agreements can be recognized in the merchants of ancient China, the colonizers of Europe, but also in the form of the European Union (Cutler et al., 1999; Hale and Held, 2011: 5; Hamilton, 2006; Milgrom et al., 1990). However these agreements are between

governmental institutions and as Hale and Held (2011: 1) mention we currently live in an intriguing period where different types of institutions are forming. Not only are regulations formulated by national politicians and diplomats, but they are also being drafted by

government networks, international bureaucrats and increasingly often by industries (Hale and Held, 2011: 1). Specifically, when looking at the environmental sphere it is clear that a shift in governance has occurred. Many countries are struggling to implement and enforce rules and regulations that are needed to preserve the environment and natural resources that our civilization depends on (Abbott and Snidal, 2008: 44; Hale and Held, 2011: 1). Non-state actors, such as corporations, have identified this gap in governance and have chosen to close this gap by engaging in (transnational) governance (Green, 2010; Hale and Held, 2011: 10).

Bartley (2018: 146) argues that by acting in three specific ways, firms have been able to successfully engage in global governance. The first form of engagement by corporations is enabled by actively sponsoring and partially taking part in governance. This engagement is takes place through the means of providing technical expertise, setting agendas, overseeing compliance, lobbying decision makers, making supervisory decisions and enforcing these decisions (Büthe, 2009; Corell and Betsill, 2007; Haas, 1991; Hale and Held, 2011: 8; Hale, 2008; Keck and Sikkink, 1998; Mazey and Richardson, 2006). An example of this form of engagement is “the Group of 30”. This elite club of experts has been able to bring together

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leaders of large financial firms, academic experts, central bankers and public sector officials and has devised agenda-setting studies as well as best practice standards that have been implemented by intergovernmental bodies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Bartley, 2018: 152; Tsingou, 2015). A main reason for firms to take part in this first form of engagement is to broaden their markets and secure their assets. However additional reasons for this engagement are to gain competitive advantages, to unify specific administrations or level the playing field against less-regulated competition (Bartley, 2018: 152; Bruszt and McDermott, 2014; Farrell and Newman, 2014; Vogel and Kagan, 2004).

The second form of engagement can be identified as the inhibition of the expansion of global governance (Bartley, 2018: 146). Although the first form of engagement mentions the unification of regimes, more often than not firms benefit greatly from cross-national regulatory differences (Berliner et al., 2015; Mayer and Phillips, 2017; Seabrooke and Wigan, 2017). Furthermore, typically firms oppose rules that limit their autonomy and they will do anything in their power to resist them (Bartley, 2018: 152). An interesting example of this can be seen in the area of fossil fuel. In the early 1990s fossil fuel companies and

industry associations backend climate change sceptics, ran public relations campaigns and successfully lobbied against US cooperation in the Kyoto Protocol (Bartley, 2018: 153). Whereas, over time and on the other side of the pond, BP and Dupont became frontrunners of the International Climate Change Partnership in Europe and were able to influence the design of the Kyoto Protocol in their favor (Bartley, 2018: 154; Meckling, 2011). Another example of companies inhibiting environmental rules is the Minamata Convention, which was proposed to cover multiple toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium. In this case efficiently organized firms heavily lobbied against this treaty and finally accepted a watered-down version that only restricted the use of mercury (Bartley, 2018: 154;

Ovodenko, 2016).

The last form of engagement can be defined as firms being direct providers of global governance. In this form of engagement firms are not pushing for or inhibiting regulations that governmental agents have constructed, but they are launching their own private

regulations (Bartley, 2018: 146). Through the means of private governance, firms are able to create their own norms without government involvement, regulate risks and protect their reputations, react to campaigns by social movements and meet investors’ needs (Abbott and Snidal, 2008: 57; Barman, 2016; Bartley, 2018: 155; Bartley et al., 2015; Büthe and

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Mattli, 2011; Hatanaka et al., 2005; McDonnell et al., 2015). An example of this can be seen in the United Kingdom, where anti-GMO activists were able to ban all GMOs in the British market through policies adopted by the supermarket sector (Bartley, 2018: 157; Schurman and Munro, 2009).

Based on the three forms of engagement specified above it is clear that with regard to environmental policies large firms have great power over global governance. At the hand of contracts insisting compliance or stimulating for certification, firms eventually become the main enforcers of sustainability guidelines (Bartley, 2018: 157).

2.2. A deep-dive in the different types of political power of a business

As mentioned above, when looking at political engagement it is clear that large companies enjoy a privileged position in the political sphere. However, it was Lindblom (1977) who first argued that businesses enjoy a unique and privileged position within a capitalist society. According to him a government cannot force a firm to invest or produce in a capitalist economy. However to entice businesses to invest in their region, governments must create a policy environment in which businesses choose to invest (Lindblom, 1977). This development can also be defined as structural power. In addition to this, Lindblom (1977) states that campaign donations and spending can be viewed as a source of instrumental power for firms. In the years following many research papers have been written with regard to the topic of political power. A large amount of these papers have focussed on lobbying and the extent to which firms are able to influence the decision-making process of governments (Clapp, 2003; Keller, 2018; Meckling, 2011; Werner, 2011). With regard to this, Keller (2018: 288) makes a differentiation between quiet and noisy politics. She argues that for lobbying to be successful, it is best to make use of noisy business politics. Businesses who go public with a specific issue and seek media attention are able to influence the public entity more, than if they would not seek the attention of the public. Furthermore Clapp (2003: 1) explains that not only individual corporations make use of lobbying, but that international and domestic industry associations also make use of this political power. Werner (2011: 123) takes this concept one step further and states that corporations and associations view lobbying as part of a market. These groups use instrumental power in the same way a rational investor would, only spending time and

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money on topics that fit within their agenda. In addition to instrumental power, many papers have focussed on structural power in the past years (Clapp, 1998; Hindmoor and Mcgeechan, 2013). This form of power has led to an increase in mixed organizations,

whereby both states and private corporations are involved in the creation and maintenance of principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures (Clapp, 1998: 295). Interestingly enough, structural power has led to a discussion if this can be seen as luck or actual business power. With regard to this Hindmoor and Mcgeechan (2013: 385) argue “that that there is an important difference between getting what you want because you have tried and getting what you want without trying and that it is reasonable to describe this as the difference between being lucky and being powerful”. Not only is it important to look at a firm’s structure, but also the structure in which this firm can be placed and the dynamics

surrounding this specific structure. If a firm can be placed within a structure that they have created and which allows them to get what they want without trying, this can be considered as power and not luck.

2.3. The small business and its position within politics

The term small business is a phrase that is broadly defined. Small businesses come in many shapes and sizes, making it hard to link the term to one specific definition, especially since there are no formal requirements surrounding the term (Watson and Everett, 1999). It is Miller (1982) who comes closest to a small business definition as he states that small businesses can be defined on the basis of output, such as sales or revenue, or on the basis of input, such as number of employees. With regard to this, the Small Business

Administration has decided to base their definition of small business on the basis of company-input, specifically employment. In fact, they have argued that employment will promote productivity more than revenue does (Miller, 1982: 17). Thus, arguing the more employers a business has employed the bigger the small business becomes, till a certain point where it no longer can be seen as a small business.

Small businesses enjoy an interesting position within society. It is often thought that small businesses are vulnerable and must be supported by governmental initiatives to continue to exist. However, research has shown that these businesses are the pillar of economies and can be seen as the generators of economic development (Bandur, 2016:

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100, 101). When looking from an economic perspective, small businesses are quite powerful in the sense that they are often associated with sustainable development and the creation of new business opportunities. Furthermore, as they are so close to their customer base, they are able to pick up on new trends relatively quickly and act as change agents for the rest of the industry (Berberović and Petković, 2013; Longhurst, 2016: 146, 148). It is important to note that although small businesses do not always have enough resources, intellectual or financial, to recognize and adequately respond to specific policy changes, they are extremely flexible and are often able to withstand and adapt to these

developments (Bandur, 2016: 90; Longhurst, 2016: 146). This flexibility is what gives these small businesses such a strong position, as they are able to use their creative and innovative abilities to create an entrepreneurial environment that leads to global competitiveness (Bandur, 2016: 91). Not only does this mentality lead to market opportunities, it also creates new employment opportunities: both positive drivers in economic terms (Bandur, 2016: 99; Longhurst, 2016: 146).

When looking at an economical perspective, it is clear that small businesses do not always have the resources needed to sufficiently respond to policy changes. However, as seen above, research shows that they can be seen as the backbone of a national economy. It is clear that small businesses play a key part within society, however, only very little is known about their position within politics. As outlined above, a lot of research has been done with regard to the political power of large multinational companies and their unique position within the political sphere. However, in spite of the vast literature that can be found on this topic, none of this research is related to the political business power of small businesses in the political sphere. At the hand of the next chapters, this thesis will attempt to address this gap in the literature.

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3. Theoretical Framework

3.1. Definition of a small business

To be able to answer the research question as proposed in the introduction, it is important to define what is understood under the term small business. Although it seems clear to many what a small business entails, as seen above, there is no clear-cut definition to this term. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (2018) states that small

businesses are enterprises with less than 500 employees. In addition to this number, the U.S. Small Business Administration states that an average annual receipt of $7.5 million can also serve as a measurement to see if a corporation qualifies as a small business. However it is important to note that these measurements are subject to change based on the industry that they are established in (Beesley, 2016). Interestingly, by these standards it means that in the United States there are 5.6 million firms that can be defined as a small business, which accounts for 99.7% of all businesses established in the United States (US Census Bureau, 2016).

In addition to this, it is important to note that every business goes through a type of ‘life cycle’ also known as the five stages of growth (Churchill and Lewis, 1983; Petch, 2016). These five stages can be defined as (1) Seed and Develop; (2) Start-up; (3) Growth and Establishment; (4) Expansion and (5) Maturity and Possible exit. Each stage can be characterized by a new goal that the company strives towards. In such manner, the first stage is defined as the very beginning of the business where the entrepreneur has outlined his or her idea and is ready to take the plunge. During the next stage, the start-up phase, the business is launched and most of the business’ time is spent tweaking the product/service that is offered. During the growth and establishment stage the business is generating a consistent income and regularly taking on new customers. As a result of this, entrepreneurs gain more time and resources to research and develop new products/services. During the fourth stage, the expansion, the business is running like a well-oiled machine and has firmly established its presence within the industry. At this point the entrepreneur is able to focus his/her attention elsewhere and can choose to broaden their horizons by expanding their product/service range or entering into new geographies. Although each stage can take many years to develop, it is often at this point that a business flips from being a small

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business to becoming a large multinational company. The last stage of growth is maturity and possible exit. During this stage the business has flourished to its fullest capacity and while it still may continue to grow it does so at a slower pace than before. At this point the entrepreneur often has to decide between three options: keep things the way they are, push for further expansion or exit the business (Petch, 2016).

As can be seen above, there are many different types of definitions on small

businesses, this research will make use of the following definition of a small business in the remainder of this thesis: a small business is defined as a privately-owned company with less than 500 employees, organized in the legal manner of a corporation, partnership or a one-man business. Additionally, each small business considered with regard to this research currently finds itself within the start-up or growth phase. Lastly, annual earnings will not be considered in this research paper; however, it must be clear that the firms in question do not have an annual earning above 1 billion U.S dollars.

3.2. Political business power

The remainder of this chapter shall focus on the three forms of business power as defined by Doris Fuchs (2005) in her paper Commanding Heights? The Strength and Fragility

of Business Power in Global Politics, as well as a critical reflection of each of these three

forms of power. The case study, which shall follow in chapter 6 and 7, will be based upon the framework as defined below.

3.2.1. Instrumental power

Instrumental power of business actors can be explained as the value of their influence on political or policy-making output. Fuchs (2005: 775) describes this form of power as the notion of “A’s power over B” and the assumption that there is a clear form of individual voluntary act and a causal consequence. In addition to this, instrumental power is seen as a form of power that can be tracked back to actor-specific sources as well as have access to decision-makers. These elements ensure that instrumental power is an important approach for business actors who wish to pursue their intentions at the hand of the political process. This desire to influence political or policy-making output is done at the hand of lobbying and campaign/party finance (Fuchs, 2005: 774).

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The first method used within instrumental power is lobbying. As mentioned earlier this form of power ranks among the oldest forms of political action to be taken by a corporation. However, trends have shown that lobbying as undergone an interesting evolution, showing that application of this form of power has increased in the last decades (Fuchs, 2005: 780). Especially large corporate players have been increasing their lobbying activities. Not only are they involved in more topics than they did every before, they are also reaching new political actors, such as transnational and supranational governments, while doing so (Fuchs, 2005: 781). To be able to do this, trade associations and corporate offices have relocated to national capitals and have started to organize Business Roundtables and other informal lobbying strategies (Bowman, 1996; Fuchs, 2005: 781; Woll, 2007: 63). In addition to the aforementioned strategies, direct contact between high-level management and top-level political players has become one of the most important and influential forms of lobbying. As a consequence, work involving political actors has translated into jobs specifically designed for high-level executives, who have a direct line of communication to the CEO as well as the political Player (Fuchs, 2005: 781; Kaiser, 2000; Kalaitzake, 2017: 391; Verba and Orren, 1985). What is interesting is that this political link has led to a long-term, somewhat ‘contractual’ liaison with top-level political players: especially those who are situated in strategic positions in the political process (Fuchs, 2005: 781; Kroszner and Stratmann, 2000; Lord, 2000).

The second method used within instrumental power is campaign and/or party finance. This form of power can be explained as the contributions of corporations towards specific political campaigns or more general contribution of capital for political parties (Bowman, 1996; Fuchs, 2005: 781; Kalaitzake, 2017: 390; Woll, 2007: 63). Firms have been able to greatly benefit from this form of instrumental power, as political actors have become progressively dependent on this extra capital and guidance (Fuchs, 2005: 782; Herrnson et al., 1998; Hirscher and Sturm, 2001). It is important to note that even though capital and guidance are powerful resources in the political game, there is only so much a firm can contribute to before its resources have been depleted. As a result, a corporation wanting to play the political game must carefully decide as to which issue they would like to exert their power and act accordingly (Fuchs, 2005: 784; Woll, 2007: 63).

Although lobbying and campaign/party finance are powerful tools within instrumental power, it is important to note that the increase in these tools does not

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automatically convert into an increase in political influence or political power (Fuchs, 2005: 783). In fact, in her paper, Leading the Dance? Power and Political Resources of Business

Lobbyists, Woll (2007: 57) explains that this political influence is actually very difficult to

measure empirically. She argues that instrumental power is a relational concept that is much more subtle and diffuse, where there are no actual winners and losers as usually is presumed (Woll, 2007: 58). Woll (2007: 59) is able to nuance Fuchs’ statement on political influence by recognizing that business power heavily relies on the receptiveness of the political actor that it is reaching out to. Being able to influence the political player has nothing to do with the success-rate of the relationship, power is omnipresent in the

business-government connection. To be able to uncover the instrumental power of business actors it is crucial to work with historical narratives and a form of process tracing (Woll, 2007: 74). By implementing both of these strategies a clear view of a business actor’s instrumental power can be created.

3.2.2. Structural power

Structural power of business actors can be explained as the power which has been obtained from actions taken by business actors themselves, and not by actions taken by individuals as seen with instrumental power (Kähkönen and Virolainen, 2011: 111). There are many ways as to how structural power can be formed. Some scholars have argued that structural power can be formed by the economic cycle, whereas others have suggested that this form of power is shaped by institutional dynamics; divisions within business regions; between financial and other business coalitions; collective action issues, as well as limitations of economies and exit options for capital (Bell and Hindmoor, 2017: 105;

Culpepper and Reinke, 2014; Hacker and Pierson, 2002; Helleiner and Thistlethwaite, 2013; Pagliari and Young, 2014; Vogel, 1989; Woll, 2014). Similar to institutional power, studies have shown that corporations have increasingly made use of structural power as a result of their ability to penalize or reward nations for their specific policy selections (Schwartz, 2017: 276). It is clear that over the years, as a result of denationalisation and trans-nationalisation, a shift in power relations has occurred, whereby the corporation has gained bargaining power over governmental organizations and the governmental organizations have become reliant on the allocation of resources and capabilities of corporations (Apeldoorn and Graaff, 2017; Babic et al., 2017: 21; Fagre and Wells, 1982; Fuchs, 2007, 2005: 776; Winecoff, 2015).

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This shift in power relations can be translated into two main approaches that can be taken by firms, namely agenda-setting power and rule-setting power (Fuchs, 2005: 776).

The first main type of structural power can be defined as agenda-setting. This form of structural power is characterized by the fact that corporations are able to undertake specific business operations, which will in turn influence governments in their decision-making process. There are multiple ways as to which a firm is able to do this, however the most common manner is by simply moving their investments elsewhere (Fuchs, 2005: 789; Young et al., 2018: 5). Next to this, businesses are able to apply this form of power in such a way that they are able to bar their financial services for businesses and consumers or by creating, expanding or closing productive facilities in a certain area. By using these relatively simple actions in a selective manner corporations are able to hold leverage over

governments, which often leads to demands for specific policies (Young et al., 2018: 6). Interestingly, more often than not, these actions are carried out by single corporations, as conflicts among corporations have led to coordinated corporate action being impossible due to the fact that unity among all parties cannot be achieved (Mizruchi, 2013; Waterhouse, 2014; Young et al., 2018: 6). Another widely used form of agenda setting that is used by corporations is to simply have an issue be picked up by the media (Vargo et al., 2018: 2029). Sciarini and Tresch (2018: 734) state that in most western countries the media is able to influence the political agenda by dedicating their time and resources to some issues while attaching little importance to others. Whether media dedicates time and resources to an issue heavily depends on the type of outlet that it is, what the specific issue at hand is or what the political agenda is that it is relating to (Sciarini and Tresch, 2018: 736; Soroka, 2002; Walgrave et al., 2008).

The second main type of structural power can be defined as rule-setting. This form of structural power is characterized by the fact that corporations are able adopt, carry out as well as enforce rules and regulations that not only apply to their own business, but also have consequences for other firms as well. In this situation, one could argue that self-regulation or a form of ‘private authority’ has arisen which has resulted in corporations being able to actively set the rules of the game (Fuchs, 2005: 777, 785). These rules and regulations can be easily observed within large transnational corporation sphere, as they are often active participants when it comes to public-private partnerships and

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that economic, environmental, social and ethical points in question dominate the field (Fuchs, 2005: 786; Haufler, 2001; Higgot et al., 2000). As such, it could be argued that rule-setting surpasses the core business of the firm as a corporation not only exclusively focusses on its daily tasks, but it also focusses on global law and is increasingly challenging

institutional lawmakers (Fuchs, 2005: 787). Despite the fact that this might be seen as an unwanted development, many scholars have argued against that idea stating that

corporations are filling governance gaps that governments are unable to close as a result of lack of political will or capacity (Fuchs, 2005: 787). Regardless of whether this development is wanted or not, firms have come to the realization that this is a powerful tool to influence the public sphere and as a result an increase in rule-setting activities has been measured (Fuchs, 2005: 787). The fact that corporations have come to the realization that rule-setting can be very powerful, as well as the growing dependency of national and local governments on business resources has shifted the power dynamics greatly towards corporations making it much easier for them to achieve their business aspirations (Fuchs, 2005: 789).

3.2.3. Discursive power

Discursive power of business actors can be explained as the power which is used to influence policies and political developments through the means of forming norms and ideas (Fuchs and Kalfagianni, 2009: 554). This form of power is expressed through the means of conversation, spoken or symbolic form of language, and cultural values and institutions. This dialogue is applied in a large variety of channels, varying from mass media and advertising to the educational system (Fuchs, 2005: 777, 2007; Fuchs and Kalfagianni, 2009: 554). Thus it is clear that discursive power adopts a sociological perspective on the power relations between corporations and governments (Fuchs, 2005: 777). Similar to instrumental and structural power, scholars are attributing increasing importance to this form of business power with regard to the political decision-making process. These scholars have called attention to the fact that increasingly governmental policy decisions are

formulated at the hand of ‘discursive contests’ over the frames of policies and the

appointed problems relating to them or by associating these policy frames to fundamental norms and values (Fuchs, 2005: 777; Hajer, 1997; Kooiman, 2002). Based on this

development, one could argue that a shift in policy issues has occurred and that symbols, story-lines and the provision of evidence and imperative arguments haven on a substantial

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new role in the public debate (Fuchs, 2005: 777). Although there are many roles the discourse perspective can take on, similar to Fuchs' (2005: 778) paper, this thesis will not focus on one specific school of discourse analysis, but look at the power that can be exercised through the means of discourse.

As mentioned above, scholars have identified an increase in corporations’ efforts to exert discursive power at a political level. It is clear that these actors are allocating more time and resources on all ‘levels’ within the political sphere to shape viewpoints of problems and to formulate and reformulate issues (Cigler and Loomis, 1995; Fuchs, 2005: 789). As Fuchs and Kalfagianni (2009: 554) point out, these efforts can be subdivided into three different areas, namely (1) framing of policy issues, (2) the framing of actors including business themselves, and (3) the influence of broader political and societal norms (Fuchs, 2007; Fuchs and Kalfagianni, 2009: 554). When looking at the first area, scholars have observed that there are many ways in which a firm is able to frame policy issues. However, the most relevant activities are those that are able to easily reach the public, including public statements by CEOs on specific policy alternatives or broad public opinion campaigns (Fuchs, 2005: 790; Kollman, 1998). In terms of business actors framing other actors as well as themselves, it is clear that firms are actively trying to influence how the public perceives their image as well as the other actors’ image (Fuchs, 2005: 790; Smith, 2000). This influence is mostly carried out at the hand of advertising and public relations campaigns that show the general public how ‘good’ the framer is and how ‘bad’ the other actor is. In addition to this, businesses have begun to publish Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability reports where they show their achievements in making their business ‘greener’, improving the quality of their products and in making responsible choices on the basis of their own brands and principles (Ferdinand, 2007; Fuchs and Kalfagianni, 2009: 554). The last area that businesses try influence is that of broader political and societal norms. To be able to do this, firms attempt to frame certain topics in such a way that they have simply redefined the issue to the general public. By being able to do this, firms have gained the privilege to change the rules of the game (Beck, 2002; Fuchs and Kalfagianni, 2009: 555; Hajer and Versteeg, 2005). However, it is important to note that the business actor must possess a form of political legitimacy to be able to frame the norms and values of the public (Cutler et al., 1999; Fuchs, 2005: 791). This legitimacy is gained as soon as people are able to place their trust in the expertise, intentions and capabilities. If this is not the case, a business

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actor will not be able to achieve their policy goals through this form of discourse as there is simply no public support for their goal (Fuchs, 2005: 779; Fuchs and Kalfagianni, 2009: 553; Lee, 2016: 108; Scharpf, 1998).

Although instrumental and structural power are seen as strong forms of political influence, discursive power can be perceived as an all-encompassing form of power because it is able to affect the political sphere in the broadest manner. Not only are firms able to directly influence the norms and values of the general public through their discourse, they are also able to complement their own instrumental and structural power and even reinforce their own discursive power (Fuchs, 2005: 779, 780).

3.2.4. Critical reflection

The political business power framework, as defined above, solely focusses on large multinational companies. Thus, for the purpose of this research, it is important to critically reflect upon each form of power and determine if they can be applied to a small business.

With regard to instrumental power, it is clear that this form of power can be divided into lobbying and campaign/party funding. When considering lobbying firstly, there is no doubt that this form of power aims to personally influence the political player. To simplify the process large firms have relocated their corporate offices to national capitals and formed jobs targeted creating a direct line with the political player, however these are not essential actions that must be taken by every business. Therefore, the assumption can be made that small businesses will also be able to make use of lobbying. The second form of instrumental power is campaign/party funding. As explained above, this form of power is characterized by the fact that businesses make financial contributions towards political campaigns or political parties. By showing their support towards specific political actors, firms hope that these actors will act in their advantage. To be able to make use of this form of power, it is essential that corporations have the funds to do so. With regard to large multinational companies this is most often the case, however with regard to small businesses it is not so obvious for them to have these means. As a result, the assumption can be made that not all small businesses will make use of campaign/party funding to influence political power, as they most likely will not have the means to do so.

Examining the second form of political business power, structural power, it is clear that for both agenda-setting and rule-setting business influence is of great importance.

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Agenda-setting is characterized by the fact that firms are able to engage in specific

businesses operations that influence a government’s decision-making process. By smartly making use of agenda-setting firms are able to hold leverage over governments, which leads to demands for specific policies. Rule-setting works in a similar manner, whereby the firm is able to influence another business in such a way that the other has no choice but to follow the larger firm’s rules and regulations. It is clear that to make use of this form of political power, a firm must be large enough to make its actions have considerable impact on the political sphere. Therefore, the assumption can be made that small businesses do that have this form of influence and therefore do not make use of structural power. As a result, this research will not further examine this form of power in relation to small businesses.

The last form of political power as defined in the framework above is discursive power. This form of power is used to influence policies and political developments by

forming norms and ideas. To be able to do this companies make use of conversation, spoken or symbolic forms of language, as well as cultural values and institutions, that are applied in a large variety of channels. As mentioned above, this form of power can be applied on all ‘levels’ within the political sphere to shape viewpoints of problems and to (re)formulate issues. It is this absence of complication that makes this form of political power accessible to every form of business. This form of power focusses on the shaping of norms and ideas and not in which way this is done, even more so there are many ways for businesses to do so. As a result, the assumption can be made that small businesses, similar to large corporations, make use of this form of power.

Table 1 Three forms of political business power

Instrumental Power Lobbying All Small Businesses

Champaign/Party Finance Only Growth Businesses

Structural Power Agenda-setting Power No Small Businesses

_{Rule-setting Power} _{No Small Businesses}

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4. Methodology

4.1. Research approach

The theoretical framework outlined the three different concepts of business power, namely instrumental power, structural power and discursive power. In this research these approaches to power will provide a conceptual foundation for analyzing the political business power of small business in relation to the ban on toxic sunscreens in Hawaii. To specify, the current theoretical framework is mostly used with regard to large multinational corporations, however never used in relation to small businesses. As such, this research will look into each form of power individually, categorizing instrumental power into lobbying and campaign/party finance and discursive power into the shaping of norms and ideas. For the study as presented in this thesis, the categorization of these forms of power allows for guidance in disclosing how small businesses engage in and combine each form of business power to influence governments with regard to policy-making.

The research method as shown earlier, clearly demonstrates that this research will follow an inductive qualitative approach to further comprehend the strategies used by small businesses in Hawaii to influence the policy-making process of their local government. An inductive research exclusively concerns research whereby the report reveals the facts in such a way making them readily available for the reader and then continues to build upon that foundation with new arguments. The inductive approach focusses on writing up materials in such a way that the author is faithful to the information and does not claim anything that cannot be proved, the researcher is simply making sense of what happened and providing this account to the reader. To be able to do this in a sensible manner, which in turn results in a clear-cut study, the research must contain a beginning to the account, a middle and an ending whereby the account is explained (Hanké, 2009: 110).

This specific research approach is significantly different from the deductive

approach, whereby a clear-cut implication is tested for a particular assumption. In this case the research is built around a few core hypotheses and a model to prove a specific point. By making use of earlier defined and proven assumptions, the researcher tries to understand other features within his field of study that were not part of the previous set of insights. Similar to the inductive approach these types of research contain a beginning, middle and

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ending, but their intention is not to make the process understandable, but to propel the debate on the theoretical conclusions in a certain direction (Hanké, 2009: 110). By using qualitative data in an inductive approach, unexpected explanations surrounding the political business power of small businesses can be found.

4.2. Research design

This study adopts a single case study design to examine which forms of political business power are employed by small businesses. A single case study analysis concentrates on one single case (N=1) that is predicted to present insight into a causal relationship across a wider community of cases (Gerring and Seawright, 2007: 86). The exploratory case study is a form of analysis that examines specific phenomena which can be distinguished by a lack of preliminary research. Here hypotheses, explicitly designed for the case, can be tested in a distinguished research environment that limits the choice of methodology (Mills et al., 2009: 372). This research will be able to serve as a preliminary step for further investigation in the field of political business power and small businesses. In contrast to a multiple or

comparative case study design, a single case study approach is able to analyze and explain the causal relationship at work in a more suitable manner. By making use of a single case study more observation time can be allocated to the case at hand, ensuring for a more in-depth research that is more inclined to lead to new insight in the causal mechanisms that may influence the political power of small businesses.

4.3. Case selection

The Ban Toxic Sunscreen case was selected on the basis of three important

characteristics: the case is confined in time and space, the case can be linked to the rest of the world and a relevant theory can be applied to the case (Hanké, 2009: 62).

As mentioned earlier, the Ban Toxic Sunscreen case is a unique case in the sense that together with academics, who are specialized in the field, small businesses have been able to influence the local Hawaii government in such a way that a bill concerning the banning of all over-the-counter sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate has been passed. Due to the nature of goal that all parties were striving towards, this case can be placed within a three-year timeframe from the time that Downs et al. (2016) published their

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research paper regarding the toxicopathological effects of over-the-counter sunscreen in 2016, till the moment that state lawmakers in Hawaii passed the bill banning these sunscreens in 2018.

Adding to its uniqueness, as well as placing it within the rest of the world, is the fact that this phenomenon has not been registered anywhere else in the world as of yet.

Although other countries and regions, including Mexico, Palau and Bonaire, have

implemented different types of sunscreen bans, Hawaii is the first state that has been urged and persuaded by small businesses and researchers to do so (McGarth, 2018). This

occurrence of small businesses influencing political decisions has set off a chain reaction in the rest of the world starting with Key West, Florida to ban toxic sunscreens (Zraick, 2019) and many others that are expected to follow.

As mentioned earlier, businesses influencing the political policy-making process is not something new. It is a happening that occurs fairly regular globally, but only practicable by large multinational companies that are able to spend millions to influence a policy to their liking. Until 2018 it was unheard of that a small business would be able to influence local politics, let alone a state-wide bill – like the Toxic Sunscreen Ban. This exploratory case will be able to show that small businesses are able to use the same forms of influence as are brought forward by Fuchs (2005). In addition to this, the Ban Toxic Sunscreen case will most-likely introduce a more refined version of this framework that can be applied to other impending cases whereby a small business is influencing a policy outcome.

4.4. Data and method

This research paper is based on an empirical analysis that has the intention to

address the multiple forms of political power that small businesses are able use to influence the policy-making sphere, including instrumental, structural and discursive power. To be able to do this, process-tracing with a focus on interactions as well as activities between specific actors will be used. As defined by Vennesson (2008: 235) “the goal of process-tracing is ultimately to provide a narrative explanation of a causal path that leads to a specific outcome”. For this analysis a theory-building approach will be used, whereby a plausible causal mechanism, linking small businesses actions to bill on banning toxic sunscreens, is identified (Beach and Pedersen, 2013).

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At the hand of a congruence analysis, which concentrates on the coherence between theoretically expected and empirically observed outcome(s), an examination of the toxic sunscreen ban case shall be executed. The analysis shall be based upon two types of data. The data point that shall be used is semi-structured and structured interviews with

companies and key players that were involved in the initiative. To support the data acquired during the interviews, a document analysis shall be conducted on primary sources. These documents will mostly include blogposts, social-media posts (including Facebook and Instagram), news articles, opinion rubrics, open letters and podcasts. By combining each of these data sources this research is able to maintain a good qualitative bases to trace specific processes, as well as enabling an understanding of the importance of the interactions that occurs between all actors in this specific case study. Interviewing and document analysis shall be explained in more detail below.

4.4.1. Interviews

Data on which specific forms of power and how the actor perceived their

effectiveness were collected mainly through the means of semi-structured and structured interviews. These interviews all contained the same predefined questions, however each interview was custom tailored to the interviewee ensuring that interviewee was able to answer the questions in their own words and add other relevant issues where they found necessary. As a result of the 12-hour time difference between Hawaii and The Netherlands all interviewees were asked to answer a structured interview after which a Skype session was planned to confirm their answers as well as go into more depth about specific topics. This method of data collection offered the researcher and interviewee the opportunity to smoothly and efficiently go through the interviewing process, without being held back by busy time-schedules and an unfortunate time difference schedule.

The interviews conducted for this research were mostly conducted with staff members employed with cosmetic brands that operate locally in Hawaii. These businesses included Raw Elements USA, All Good, Stream2Sea and Manda. In addition to this, an interview request was also sent out to the individual who launched the Ban Toxic Sunscreen

Initiative in Hawaii. In total five actors were approached to participate in this research, of

which three confirmed to contribute. Of those three interviewees two where conducted with representatives of cosmetic brands and one was conducted with the individual who

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launched the initiative. Of the in total three interviews that were administered for this thesis, two were done solely by email and one was conducted through email as well as Skype. All interviews were administered and analysed in English and each interviewee gave permission to be named in this research.

With regard to the selection process of interviewees, purposive sampling and snowball sampling were used. For purposive sampling a stakeholder map was made, comprising of cosmetic brands selling non-toxic sunscreens and individuals who held a key position within the initiative. In addition to this, each respondent was asked if they were able to recommend and provide contact details of other relevant experts and informants in the field. This technique is also known as snowballing.

4.4.2. Document analysis

Document analysis in this research is mainly based on materials communicated by the cosmetic brands as mentioned above, as well as other key player who will be described in chapter 5. These different forms of documents were gathered at the hand of online searches as well as recommendations from participants. By analysing the content produced by each key player, an understanding was created as to which forms of power were used by small businesses and how this power was used to influence the policy-making sphere. This information was mostly obtained through the means of social-media posts; however, newspaper articles and podcasts were also used for this process. In addition to this, many key players kept a blog with the latest developments regarding the initiative. Which was found useful with regards to obtaining relevant information surrounding the initiative.

In addition to all company-based data, an analysis was done on all content produced by the Ban Toxic Sunscreen Initiative itself. Here too, much information was gained though the means of personal blog-posts and social-media updates. Although the focus of this thesis is on the political power of small businesses, this source was especially helpful in connecting all the relevant players and revealing how the initiative and its actions

proceeded. As a result, this source was able to strengthen the observations that were made with regard to the role and attitude of the cosmetic brands involved with the initiative.

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4.5. Validity, reliability and replicability criteria

As Hanké (2009: 87) explains in his book Intelligent Research Design it is important to consider three key criteria when constructing data: validity, reliability and replicability. The first criterion, validity, refers to “whether the concepts as you defined them are

correctly expressed in the measurements you use” (Hanké, 2009: 87). The second criterion, reliability, handles the issue of how stable the measurement is (Hanké, 2009: 90).

Fundamentally this means that if the measurement method is applied in the same manner for a second time, the researcher will be able to confirm the same results as the first time if no other factors have changed that could influence the outcome (King et al., 1994: 25). The third criterion, replicability, can be defined as “a call to intellectual honesty” and explains how the researcher moved from concept to operationalization so that anyone can

reproduce the research and check the results Hanké (2009: 91). With regard to this it is important to clearly report which sources one has used and stay close to the text, making sure an independent party can find the same information.

When applying these criteria to this specific research, a few challenges arise. Firstly, it is important to note that due to a large time difference and clashing schedules it might not be possible have face-to-face conversations through skype. This could lead to solely structured interviews where it is not possible to define and refine specific concepts that are used within the interview questions or take a closer look at specific concepts. This could potentially lead to validity and reliability issues, however as this is a foreseen challenge it is possible to act in an according matter, such as making use of email to clarify concerns. A second challenge that as emerged with regard to the research is the fact that only a minimal number of respondents have responded to an interview request. Although a preference is given to a larger number of respondents, this knowledge gap will be filled by document analysis. Document analysis is where the last challenge can be identified. Despite the fact that the majority of data can be found online, many developments have also taken place offline. With regard to this, as a researcher not based in Hawaii, it will be challenging to find data linked to all of these developments. To counter this issue this data will only be used as a general approximation linked to other data which is reliable and can be replicated.

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5. The Toxic Sunscreen Ban

The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of the developments surrounding the awareness of marine pollution and how the Toxic Sunscreen Ban can be placed within this framework. This is important as it will be able to give a more in-depth understanding of the case and the context in which it is situated, before doing a more comprehensive analysis of the different forms in which small businesses are able exert power in Chapters 6 and 7. In this regard, the first segment of this chapter will provide a description of the growing

realization of marine pollution, how this has effected the environment as well as society and how small businesses have taken it upon themselves to minimize their footprint. The next segment of this chapter will concentrate on the Toxic Sunscreen Ban itself, explaining the objectives as well as the means to realize them and the key players that are involved in this case.

5.1. The growing realization of marine pollution

The planet’s ocean is a mysterious place that is still largely unexplored. Although the exact number of species that live in the ocean is unknown, experts have estimated that about one million species of animals call the ocean their home. What researchers do know, is that the number of animal species is decreasing and this is most likely a result of marine pollution (National Geographic kids, n.d.; US Department of Commerce, n.d.). Marine pollution can be defined as the introduction of damaging contaminants that are foreign to the given ecosystem. Typical man-made waste that is introduced into the ocean includes pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, detergents, oil, sewage, plastics and other debris. Only until a few years ago it was believed that the ocean was so vast and deep that no matter how much trash and chemicals would be dumped into it the effects would be insignificantly small. Advocates of dumping waste into the ocean were even known to use the catchphrase “The solution to pollution is dilution” (National Geographic, 2010). We now know that dilution is most definitely not the solution to pollution. In fact, it is estimated that 6.3 billion kilograms of trash is dumped into the ocean each year, excluding toxic chemicals, sewage and ship pollution (Conserve Energy Future, n.d.; Seastewards, n.d.).

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As mentioned earlier there are many causes for marine pollution and these, in turn, lead to four main types of pollution. The first type of pollution can be defined as

eutrophication. Eutrophication occurs when there is an overabundance of chemical

nutrients in the water. When this takes place the level of oxygen in water decreases, which leads to reduced water quality, which in turn makes the water inhabitable for marine life, affecting the breeding system and ultimately decreasing marine life in that area

(Chakraborty, 2018). The second type of pollution is acidification. Oceans are able to act as natural reservoirs for absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As a result of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere the ocean is becoming more acidic in nature, which in turn leads to the disintegration of calcium carbonate structures, affecting the formation of shells and corals (Chakraborty, 2018). Toxins can be defined as the third form of

pollution, as they are not able to dissolve or disintegrate in the marine ecosystem. As a result, these toxins accumulate in the cells of marine animals, which can hinder of even mutate marine life. As a result of this absorbance, toxins have been able to find their way into the food stream harming not only marine life, but also humans (Chakraborty, 2018). The last main type of marine pollution is plastic. This type of pollution is damaging to marine life, as dumped plastic is currently suffocating, entangling and being ingested by wildlife and more often than not causing death (Chakraborty, 2018).

The many causes of marine pollution, also lead to many different steps to prevent and in turn counter the effects of marine pollution. Examples of these measures include choosing reusable items over disposable ones, picking up trash and disposing of it in a correct way, reducing or eliminating chemicals, preventing oil spills and reducing the carbon footprint (Chakraborty, 2018; Seastewards, n.d.). However, there is one measure to prevent marine pollution that has only recently been discovered, namely the removal of ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate in over-the-counter sunscreens (Downs et al., 2016; Moulite, 2018). Research has shown that oxybenzone and octinoxate lead to bleaching,

malformation, DNA damage and eventually death in coral reefs, when they are released into the water (Downs et al., 2016). By simply removing these two toxins from sunscreens a significant positive impact can be made in the battle against marine pollution.

The political power of small businesses : analysing the Hawaiian toxic sunscreen ban

Master Thesis Political Science, Public Policy & Governance