Personal Care Products Council says Plastic Microbeads in Cosmetics are "Tiny Contributors" to Marine Pollution

The UN Environment Programme's Clean Seas campaign has called for a global ban of microbeads in cosmetics due to their contribution to marine pollution. In the same effort to clean up marine pollution, the U.S. Microbead-Free Waters Act, which was signed into law in late 2015, requires that cosmetic products which contain microbeads start to phase them out by July 2017. 

Recently, the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) stated that the concern over the use of microbeads in cosmetics due to their contribution to marine pollution is "unfounded" since their contribution to the pollution is "tiny". The PCPC's statement was supported by over 500 personal care companies which they represent. Chemical Watch reported that PCPC's statement was also backed "by national and regional trade bodies, including in Europe, the US, Canada, Brazil, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)." 

Canada recently adopted The Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations which ban the production, import, and sale of cosmetics containing microbeads. According to Chemical Watch, "Bans are also under consideration in the UK and Ireland, while South Korea and Taiwan are contemplating similar measures."