Microbeads – From Your Face to Your Food
Photograph by Tom Newton
It is a popular (and hygienic) habit but washing your face
with certain products may be causing more harm than good. Microbeads, beads that
are so tiny we do not even know they are there, can be found in face wash,
toothpaste, and sometimes even in our food. They are usually smaller than 1 mm,
which is why most people may not know about them. Microbeads help with exfoliating,
which is why it is a popular ingredient in face scrubs and toothpaste. When it
first started to become commercialized the long-term consequences were not studied;
the microbeads provided a cheap alternative to resources that were running out and that was that.
Now we know that microbeads are almost impossible to remove from our environment
and that they make up most of the plastic we find in the ocean.
There are multiple reasons why microbeads are now banned in
the United States: the plastic is polluting fresh water and ocean water, which is
leading aquatic animals to getting sick from eating the microbeads. Through fishing those aquatic animals, this can
then lead to microbeads – 100% plastic – ending up in our food. It is not good
for us and it is certainly not good for the animals swimming in the polluted water.
So what can we do to further ban microbeads? Talk about it.
Talk to friends, family, write about it and share with everyone (just like this
blog). The only place that has banned microbeads so far is the United States, and
that is a very recent development. We can do more by watching the
products we buy. If we watch what we buy, we can avoid supporting the companies
that prefer dollars over life and health. We only get so many chances until
decisions like microbeads start affecting more than animals.
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