Personal Care

Our everyday facial cleansing brands and other cosmetic items may do wonders for our appearances, but products which contain microbeads or other plastic materials may not be as beneficial towards our environment as to our skin. In 2015 President Obama signed into law a ban on the manufacture or sale of products containing microbeads in the US. However, globally and even still nationally we face a threat of plastic pollution consistently coming from cosmetic products.

Environmental Science and Pollution research draws on data concerning plastic pellets and microbeads, which are used in cosmetic products as abrasives, and informs that oftentimes these make their way to our oceans and freshwater systems through wastewater. The main components being polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) substances, which can be ingested by marine life leading to bioaccumulation in cells and tissues or other health defects.

So, how can we prevent this? There are few small steps we can take to mitigate the harmful effects of microplastics in cosmetics. By no means are we suggesting drastically changing your ways of life; however, if you have the ability, we would earnestly recommend taking these ideas into consideration:

• Avoid care products that have ‘poly’ on the label

• Avoid toothpastes/other products that contain PE, PP

  • Can use this link by the “Beat the MicroBead” project to search for safe or unsafe products

• “Look for the zero” logos which guarantees that these products are 100% free of microplastics

• Reach out to local organizations who promote sustainability to give your support

• Great article by "The Guardian" to check out - describes personal care companies who have/plan to phase out microplastics in their products