Sustainability
With Canada and the United Kingdom joining the United States in banning plastic microbeads in many cosmetics and personal care products starting January 1, here’s why that ban matters.
Harmful microbeads in our waterways
1. Microbeads are eaten by marine life
These tiny plastic beads, often used in scrubs, look like food to fish and other sea creatures. They’re eaten and move up the food chain.
2. Microbeads attract toxic chemicals
As they drift through rivers, lakes and oceans, microbeads pick up harmful chemicals like pesticides and flame retardants, carrying those toxins into marine ecosystems.
3. Wastewater plants can’t catch them
Microbeads are too small for wastewater treatment systems to fully remove, so they pass through and pollute water bodies around the world.
How you can help stop microbead pollution
1. Check product labels for plastic ingredients such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate, polylactic acid, or nylon.
2. Send products that contain microbeads to the 5Gyres Institute, a group that studies plastic pollution and accepts microbead personal care items.
3. Choose natural sugar scrubs instead. Eminence Organics offers all-natural body scrubs that use organically grown sugar cane crystals to exfoliate. Try Cranberry Pomegranate Sugar Scrub, a vitamin-rich exfoliant, or Coconut Sugar Scrub, which exfoliates while deeply hydrating with coconut oil.
Ready to switch away from plastic microbeads? Visit your nearest authorized Eminence spa to explore our sugar scrubs. Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments or join the conversation on social media.