Ban Unsafe and Unhealthy Microbeads in Personal Care Products

Target: Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

Goal: Push for ban on microbeads within personal care products.

In 2017, the government of India deemed microbeads “unsafe” for use in personal care products. Fast-forward several years, however, and India is responsible for the release of nearly 14 quintillion microbeads into the environment in just a year’s time. Since India ranks in the world’s top five for personal care product use and is the most densely populated region in the world, both public health and environmental health stand at imminent risk.

These tiny particles of plastic are infused into shower gels, facial scrubs, and other cleansers in order to exfoliate the skin. When they are rinsed off, they easily bypass water treatment facilities and often find their way into large bodies of water. Therefore, chemicals and metals found within microbeads are consumed by aquatic animals, who face a wide range of health complications within the endocrine and digestive systems as a result. These animals are in turn consumed by other wildlife and by humans, so the health risks spread. Direct use of microbead-infused products can also be detrimental to humans and lead to conditions ranging from serious skin irritation to gum disease.

Despite awareness of these risks, India has thus far failed to enact a microbead ban, like many other nations have done. Sign the petition below to demand this major consumer of microbeads join the rest of the world in abolishing a serious ecological and personal health threat.

PETITOIN LETTER:

Dear Prime Minister Modi,

A recent study found microbeads in nearly half of India’s personal care products. These additives were deemed unsafe by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 2017. In the past seven years, India has taken decisive steps to manage plastic waste and to ban single-use plastics. Now is past time to address with equal seriousness the ecological and health risks posed by these microplastics.

Please join major cosmetics manufacturers, leading health institutes, and a growing list of nations in condemning and banning this ongoing public menace.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Polina Kovaleva