Do you use plastic-free sunscreen?
Now that summer temperatures have finally reached our country, it's time to protect our skin again. But which of the dozens of different types and brands do you choose? With our new PlasticFreeFuture app you can discover which sunscreen is free of microplastics [1]. And therefore the safest for humans and the environment.
How many personal care products contain microplastics?
Three years ago, we examined 7,704 personal care products for the presence of microplastics. The results were truly dramatic: some form of microplastic was found in as many as 87% of the products examined [2].
Why are there microplastics in cosmetics?
Microplastics are so small that they are virtually invisible to the naked eye. Most people know it as small pieces of plastic that break off from larger pieces, such as litter, car tires and clothing. But microplastics are also often intentionally added to a personal care product, such as sunscreen and hair gel to increase its spreadability.
What types of microplastics are there?
Only thirteen percent of the personal care products examined contained no microplastics, according to the label. In addition to solid particles of microplastics, manufacturers also add liquid, water-soluble microplastics to personal care products. These liquid plastics do not (yet) fall under the definition of microplastics, so the extent to which these plastics can be degraded by nature (biodegradability) and whether it is harmful to humans and the environment has not yet been investigated. And yet they are already widely added to personal care products [3].
What can we do about it?
Although European legislation bans microplastics in cosmetics, many manufacturers still add microplastics to their products; in fact, manufacturers have up to ten years to completely eliminate the plastics from their products [4]. High time, then, to take matters into your own hands. Download our new PlasticFreeFuture app now and scan your products for the presence of microplastics [5].
This is how we grease ourselves plastic-free into summer [6].
At Plastic Soup Foundation, we are working hard to turn the plastic tap a little closer every day. Reducing unnecessary microplastics in personal care products is part of that. Do you support our mission and want to do your part? Thendonate now.
Rynaldo Koerhuis (1995) advises, sells and writes. For Plastic Soup Foundation he writes a blog twice a month on a current topic.
[1] Read more about our new app here.
[2] Read more about microplastics in personal care products here.
[3] About microplastics in personal care products, we wrote the report 'Plastic, the hidden beauty ingredient'.
[4] Read more about the slow changes in the industry here.
[5] Download the app for iPhone here and for Android here.
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