HOW TO TELL IF YOUR BRAND’S GOT BEADS IN

AS evidence of the dangers of microbeads grows, more and more consumers want to avoid them. And a growing number of companies that do use microbeads in their products have promised to phase them out in the coming months and years.

But with a huge range of products out there, each with its own confusing list of ingredients, how do you work out whether your bathroom is environmentally-friendly or not?

For many products, there is a simple solution.

campaign group Beat The Microbead has compiled detailed lists of which scrubs, foams and cleansers contain the plastic pests — and which are free of them. They have

separate lists for a host of European countries, and break down the results into four distinct categories: those with microbeads; those containing them but whose manufacturers have agreed to stop using them in future; those with no microbeads; and those with no plastic content of any kind.

You can search its extensive lists at beatthemicrobead.org, or download the free app, Beat The Microbead, which lets you scan the barcode of any product to see whether it’s on the list.

The campaign group also promotes the use of a green circular label on products certified 100 per cent free of plastics. In the UK, these manufacturers include Weleda and Neal’s Yard Remedies.