Plastic Soup Foundation
  • The issue
      • Plastic Soup
      • What is plastic?
      • Plastic in the environment
      • Harm to animals
      • Health effects
      • Regulations
      • Bogus solutions
      • Responsibilities
      • Sustainable development
      • Facts & Figures
  • What we do
      • Health
      • Microplastics
      • Education
      • Plastic Waste
  • How you can help
      • Consumer
      • Business
      • Community
      • Kids
      • At school
  • Solutions
  • News
  • Donate
  • NL
  • EN
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: News British cosmetics industry: Plastic liquids are not hazardous

British cosmetics industry: Plastic liquids are not hazardous

After holding a consultation round, the British Government recently announced a ban on microbeads in personal care products to take effect on 1 January 2018. The director of Britain’s Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA), Dr Chris Flower, responded to this announcement by stating that each ban should be based on scientific knowledge. In the case of microbeads it has been proven to be detrimental to the marine environment and the CTPA is happy that the ban is limited to scrubs. It claims that other plastic ingredients in personal care products do not contribute to marine pollution.

This means that even after the ban takes effect and products containing plastic microbeads are removed from the market, consumers will still see ‘polyethylene’ and countless other plastics on labels. The CTPA admits that this is confusing for consumers, but it states that polyethylene does not automatically mean that the product contains microbeads. It goes on to say that there is a difference between the hard plastic particles and other types of plastics in personal care products. These have very different qualities and “do not pose any dangers to the environment”. For example, these comprise liquids that allow products to be spread smoothly on the skin in so-called leave-on cosmetics such as foundation and sun cream. These, the CTPA states, are not relevant in the current debate about the effects of plastic microbeads on the environment. In further explanation about the issue, the CTPA website states “There is no evidence linking ingredients in leave-on cosmetic products to plastic litter in the marine environment”.

The Beat the Microbead coalition seriously doubts this statement. It asks the cosmetics industry, that justifiably places great importance on scientific substantiation, to prove that the plastics that do not fall under the ban, do indeed pose no threat to the environment and do not contribute to the plastic pollution of our waters. To date, there is no evidence of this and consumers simply have to believe the cosmetics industry. Or not.

The international Beat the Microbead coalition advocates for 100% plastic free personal care products. Consumers need complete clarity on this issue and should not be confused by the list of ingredients on labels. If microplastics are used, in whatever form, it must be proven beyond a doubt that they are not harmful to the environment.

Read more about this subject in our Microbeads & microplastics file.

Search

Categories

  • Don't use balloons (3)
  • Gezondheidseffecten (56)
  • Animal cruelty (13)
  • sponsoring campaign (1)
  • Microbeads (27)
  • Sponsor actions (3)
  • Ocean Clean Wash (12)
  • About us (1)
  • Plastic Urban Mining (4)
  • Blogs (16)
  • My little plastic footprint (5)
  • Plastic Soup Awards (3)
  • Synthetic fibers (19)
  • Political plume (3)
  • actions frontpage (1)
  • nurdles (5)
  • Pressreleases (2)
  • Microplastics in cosmetics (1)
  • Junior (1)
  • No category (1)
  • News (532)
  • What can you do? (13)
  • Health Files (38)
  • Clean rivers (24)
  • Plastic soupermarket (2)
  • Trash hunters (49)
  • What is plastic soup? (12)
  • What to do with plastic waste? (12)
  • Types of plastic (3)
  • Press releases (16)
  • Beat the microbead (16)
  • Solutions (11)

Subscribe to our newsletter

and stay informed about our activities!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate now and contribute

I'll donate € 5I'll donate € 10I'll donate € 15Other amount

More news

Plastic rocks on an isolated island

The sombre message of stones made of plastic found on an uninhabited island far from the Brazilian coast.

Read more

EU ban on microplastics in cosmetics: too slow and too limited

Cosmetics companies selling personal care products without microplastics are calling for the swift introduction of a total ban in an open letter.

Read more

Sungai Watch prevents Bali’s plastic waste from reaching the ocean

In Bali, more and more rivers are being cleaned from plastic waste every day. What do Dutch travel suitcases made from recycled ocean plastic have to do with that?

Read more

Chemicals plastic cause overweight

Scientists suspect that fat formation in human bodies is stimulated by plastic.

Read more

About us

  • Frontrunners
  • Mission & Vision
  • Our People
  • Working with Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Inquiries Press
  • Newsletter

Our approach

  • Plastic Soup Angels
  • Funds & Partners
  • Ambassadors
  • Plastic Soup Awards
  • Plastic Soup Atlas
  • Facts & Figures
DONATE
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Contact

 
© Copyright - Plastic Soup Foundation
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
  • GDPR Consent Settings
UK: ban on microbeads in cosmeticsIoniqa technology enables limitless PET recycling
Scroll to top

GDPR settings

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

x
Settings

Your privacy and this website...

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Functional technology enables a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. No personalised information is collected.

See details

This consent is used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

See details

This consent helps website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting.

See details
Forget my settings Settings have been forgotten