You’ve heard the latest fury over finding plastic micro beads in the Great Lakes by The 5 Gyre’s Institute and the response by at least 3 companies (Unilever, Johnson&Johnson and Proctor & Gamble) that they will phase out their use in scrubs and body washes.
Is this product stewardship? Maybe. But only if care is taken to evaluate possible substitutes to ensure they don't cause the same or different issues of concern.
It's not clear that there are toxicity or physical harm caused by plastic micro beads to fish or humans who may swallow them. They might just pass on through like indigestible fiber.
It's pretty easy to switch to alternatives that are "natural" alternatives (used by others like Bert's Bees) like ground up apricot shells and cocoa beans, so being precautionary won't hurt a lot - maybe. But are natural alternatives better? Product stewards need look at the life cycle impacts of alternatives. For example they need to explore whether these particles also float and look like fish food and are are just as likely to be swallowed by humans. The shell particles aren't likely to be readily biodegradable either, so they'll hang around, too. Are these small particles less toxic/harmful than plastic micro beads? It's alleged that the plastic beads can absorb toxic chemicals. What about the shells?
And then there are the non-particle alternatives. People can use a scrub sponge to defoliate. Who needs micro particles? Well, maybe consumer product makers do - they differentiate their bottled products with these scrubbing beads and pull a much higher margin than might be available for a scratchy sponge (although those natural loofah sponges are pricey, but farming natural sponges has its own life cycle impacts to consider). Or wait until it gets bad enough and do a chemical peel - with "natural" acids and enzymes, of course.
Product performance also counts in product stewardship. How can companies provide for customer needs with the least environmental and health impacts throughout the product's life cycle?
See my brochure on product stewardship
I'm confident that these three companies who are leaders in sustainability and life cycle product stewardship, will look hard at alternatives. Not so sure about others and some of the potentially greenwashing marketing claims that will get made about "natural" micro scrubbing particles. Let's watch and see how companies respond.