How to Give Up Plastic

Of course, what your toiletries come wrapped in might not be the only problem, but also what they contain. Until recently few people had heard of microbeads, but as countries across the world got wise to this pernicious addition to our creams and cosmetics word spread and soon governments everywhere were banning them. Used for a variety of purposes such as exfoliating, the use of microbeads became quite widespread in a short space of time as companies moved away from more natural alternatives like ground apricot kernels. They can be found in plenty of everyday products including toothpaste, sun cream, make-up, face and hand wash and more.

In countries that haven’t already taken the plunge or where the ban has yet to take effect, here are some things to look out for to make sure you’re not unwittingly washing thousands of these polluting beads down the drain every time you wash your face or clean your teeth. Beat the Microbead is a coalition of organizations (www.beatthemicrobead.org) trying to end the use