Superdrug and Boots order firms to ban the toxic beads
REVEALED: THE TOXIC BEADS IN YOUR FOOD HEAT ON MAY TO BAN TOXIC BEADS
RETAILERS have given an ultimatum to cosmetics firms to axe ‘plastic poison’ microbeads from their products or face a ban from the shelves.
Boots has told beauty companies that it will not sell any products containing the beads after 2017.
Superdrug has written to all its suppliers saying it wants them to take out the beads. And Britain’s biggest retailer, Tesco, says it is ‘ actively encouraging’ cosmetic firms to take the beads out of their products.
Other retailers have taken the beads out of their own-label products and are putting pressure on big-brand cosmetic companies to follow suit.
Industry trade body, Cosmetics Europe, is working on a voluntary withdrawal of beads from some products by 2020.
But the consensus from consumers, retailers, MPs, academics and environmental groups is that this does not go far enough. The Daily Mail’s ‘Ban the Beads Now’ campaign is supporting the idea of urgent action for a comprehensive ban on the use of microbeads and microplastics in products that end up being washed down the sink.
Concerns stem from the fact that trillions of the tiny plastic particles are being flushed into rivers and the seas.
They then become magnets for toxins and are eaten by fish and shellfish. British research found more than a third of the fish caught off UK shores, including cod, haddock and mackerel, were contaminated with plastic particles.
And as much as 83 per cent of so-called Norway lobster, which is sold as scampi, was also contaminated with plastic.
There is concern that the toxins present in the plastic have the potential to harm humans who eat the fish.
Many UK retailers have already removed the beads from their own-label beauty scrubs, gels, face washes and toothpastes while others are in the process of doing so.
Boots – Britain’s biggest specialist beauty products retailer – will no longer stock products containing the beads after 2017. A Boots spokesman said: ‘Boots UK are committed to ensuring that our products do not have an adverse effect on the environment.
‘All manufacturing of Boots brands and exclusive products containing plastic microbeads ceased in December 2015.
‘We have also been working with our suppliers, many of whom have already committed to phase out plastic microbeads, and we intend to no longer accept products with plastic microbeads after 2017.’ Superdrug said: ‘We take our position as a responsible retailer seriously and all microplastics in our own-brand exfoliators will be replaced with alternatives by the end of 2016. We’ve written to our suppliers asking them to follow our lead so Superdrug can be a microbeadfree environment.’
Tesco said: ‘All our own-label products are now being made free of microbeads and we’re also actively encouraging brands to match our commitment.’ Cosmetics Europe insists there is no need for a legal ban. It said microbeads in cosmetic products ‘are only a fraction of the problem’ of plastics pollution of the seas. But Greenpeace UK spokesman Elisabeth Whitebread said: ‘It’s good to see high street retailers realise the scale of the microbead problem.
‘But the most effective way to solve the problem is a Government ban covering any plastic in any consumer product which can go down the drain and end up in our seas.
‘The UK Government has a chance to lead the way in tackling microplastic pollution and it should seize it with both hands.’