Woolworths removes microbeads from cosmetics

Woolworths replaces plastic microbeads present in its private label beauty and personal care products with ocean-friendly alternatives.

These alternatives include biodegradable ingredients, which are claimed to offer the same quality of exfoliation when used in face and body scrubs.

Woolworths' quality innovation and sourcing manager Deshi Moodley said: “We are celebrating this as an important milestone in our Good Beauty Journey.

“It has been well-proven that microbeads are a serious contributor to water pollution and there is urgency across the world to take quick action to eliminate them as an ingredient in beauty products.

"Woolworths is delighted to replace microbeads in our formulations with fantastic substitutes that are not just safe for our customers but for the environment, too.”

Microbeads are tiny, non-biodegrable plastic spheres used in products aiming to offer exfoliation. The small size of the microbeads means they filter out of water treatment plants and flow down sinks and baths via sewerage systems. This can result in toxic pollution of oceans and fresh water systems.

This poses a danger to marine and aquatic life. Countries such as UK and Italy are planning to pass legislations to ban use of microbeads in cosmetics.

Natural and biodegradable alternatives being used by Woolworths include Jojoba oil beads, apricot kernels and synthetic wax beads.