A new Greenpeace report has ranked the world’s 30 biggest cosmetics and personal care companies on their commitment to tackling the issue of microbeads in their products.

The problem with microbeads

Microbeads are a type of microplastic that can be found in our personal care products such as toothpastes, face washes, scrubs and shower gels.

They are tiny plastic particles that are added for their exfoliating properties, but sometimes for aesthetic purposes only.

Microbeads are so small (under 5mm) that they bypass sewage filtration systems and go straight into the sea, where they can attract toxic chemicals and be consumed by marine life.

‘These plastics go straight down our drains and into the sea. There they can cause serious harm to marine life by being eaten and leaching out toxic chemicals. They can even travel up the food chain and end up in the seafood on our plate – the health consequences of which are still unknown.’ LOUISE EDGE

Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace UK

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser

The UK companies ranked in the report are GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Reckitt Benckiser.

GSK, which owns brands including Sensodyne toothpaste, ranked fifth from bottom in the survey due to its restrictive definition of microbeads and its failure as yet to adopt a formal and transparent commitment to phase out their use.

Reckitt Benckiser, which owns brands such as Dettol and Vanish, placed in the top half of the table – but its commitment to phase out microbeads doesn’t cover all types of plastics or all of their products.