Federal Government Bans Soaps, Cleansers With Microbeads

President Obama signed a law this week banning soaps, toothpastes, and body washes that contain tiny plastic microbeads.

The House of Representatives bill phases out the environmentally harmful beads beginning July 1, 2017.

For a list of products with these microbeads, click here.

Microbeads are used as an abrasive in many personal-care and beauty products, such as facial scrubs, soaps and toothpastes.

The new law was needed, according to government officials, because the microbeads never dissolve and are being found in water, which means fish are eating them and in some cases humans are eating those fish or drinking water with these microbeads.

Beauty products aren’t the only source of microbeads, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines as any particle 5 millimeters or smaller. They also are created as larger plastic items, such as bottles or containers that found their way into the environment, break down.

But eliminating the use of the particles from such products removes one source of the problem, according to NOAA.

Illinois was the first state to ban microbeads in beauty products in 2014. California passed a bill in this summer.

The federal law would be law in all 50 states.

L’Oréal, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Crest have eliminated or had promised to get rid of microbeads in their products, before the federal ban.

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Photo courtesy of EcoWatch.com