In 2012, Beat the Microbead started campaigning against rinse-off cosmetic products which contain visible microbeads made of Polyethylene, PET, PMMA, and others. However, since 2012 there have been a number of been ground–breaking research papers on what exactly microplastics are.

For this reason, BTMB has expanded and is now campaigning against all types of plastic – microbeads, microplastics, and nanoplastics – in personal care and cosmetic products.  

Since 2015, we have been campaigning against microplastics with a list of 67 microplastic ingredients as proposed by the TAUW and UN Environment Report.  

Now, thanks to extensive research conducted by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), we know there are more than 550 microplastic ingredients widely used in cosmetics and personal care products. Using this research as a basis, we have created an easy guide to understand and avoid these ingredients. 

We do not intend to stop here. There are many “sceptical microplastic” ingredients which are still not on the general public’s radar. By “sceptical microplastic” ingredients we mean synthetic polymers for which there is not enough information available. By putting these “sceptical microplastics” on the radar, we aim to start a conversation with the industry in order to get to the bottom of it all with one central question: are these ingredients harmful for the environment and/or our health?