On September 1, 2021, the national standard GB / T 40146-2021 "determination of plastic beads in cosmetics" for the detection of plastic particles in daily chemical products was officially implemented. The determination of plastic beads in cosmetics used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to qualitatively detect plastics in products. The implementation of the plastic bead testing standard provides a strong guarantee for the goal of banning the sale of daily chemical products containing plastic beads by the end of 2022.

Plastic beads can also be called plastic particles and micro plastics. Most of them are plastic fragments, fibers and particles with a diameter of less than 5mm. The production materials include polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyamide, polyvinyl chloride, etc.

Plastic beads are mainly produced in two ways. The first is produced to meet specific needs.

First of all, plastic beads are often used as filling agents, film-forming agents, thickeners and suspending agents in personal care and cosmetics products. They are used in products such as scrub, cleanser, shower gel, toothpaste, sunscreen, eye shadow, blush, foundation liquid and so on. The addition amount is about 1%-90%.

At the same time, some large plastic products will gradually crack to form plastic fragments less than 5mm after weathering and photolysis, which is called secondary plastic particles.

Plastic beads were once very popular in the cosmetics industry, so why were they banned?

The most fundamental reason is that it can pollute the ocean and even enter the human food chain, and finally appear on our table. According to relevant statistics, the average annual intake of plastic beads in seafood can reach 1800-11000!

Therefore, this small bead has attracted more and more attention.

It is understood that 80% of marine pollution is caused by human activities, and plastic pollution accounts for 60% - 95% of all kinds of pollution. Plastic bead pollution is one of them.

Most daily chemical products containing plastic beads are washing products. Compared with some large plastic films or chemical fiber clothes, the volume of plastic beads is very small. Therefore, plastic beads have successfully escaped the filtration and recovery system of urban sewage treatment system and entered surface water bodies such as rivers, lakes and oceans. Because they are not easy to degrade, they continue to accumulate in the environment.

In addition, plastic beads can be ingested by marine organisms with different nutrients such as seabirds and fish, which may damage the digestive system of animals, lead to infection, pain or death, and even affect human health through the food chain.

In view of the irreversible harm of plastic beads to the environment, in recent years, countries have issued relevant laws and regulations to prohibit the use of plastic beads in cosmetics. According to the guidance catalogue for industrial structure adjustment (2019) prepared by the national development and Reform Commission, the production of daily chemical products containing plastic beads shall be prohibited by December 31, 2020 and sales shall be prohibited by December 31, 2022.

The report plastics in cosmetics released by the United Nations in 2015 pointed out that only in the survey of the European cosmetics market, it was found that 4360 tons of plastic beads were used in cosmetics produced by all EU countries, Norway and Switzerland.

It is understood that at present, many countries in the world have expressly prohibited the addition of plastic beads in cosmetics and personal protective articles or completely prohibited disposable plastic products. According to incomplete statistics, in many countries and regions, Canada, France, Italy, South Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand and other countries have successively issued policies to prohibit the production and sale of relevant products containing plastic beads to varying degrees. In some countries, the ban only involves some categories such as leaching, For example, the United Kingdom, and the ban in some countries has covered the whole category of cosmetics, such as Italy, South Korea and so on.

The application of plastic beads in cosmetics is mainly divided into two categories: one is facial cleanser and toothpaste. The other is sun protection, color makeup and other wash free types.

With the relevant provisions of the opinions on further strengthening plastic pollution control issued by the national development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of ecological environment entering the formal implementation stage, cosmetics enterprises are looking for environmentally friendly and renewable plastic beads as substitutes.

With the increasing pollution problem, consumers prefer natural and environmentally friendly products. Therefore, sustainability and green environmental protection have become hot topics in the cosmetics industry and the biggest highlight of brand publicity. With the improvement of Chinese people's awareness of environmental protection, this concept has also penetrated into the whole cosmetics industry chain and gradually guided the transformation and upgrading of the industry.

Obviously, green environmental protection has become a general trend, and enjoying a healthy and environmentally friendly low-carbon life has become the consensus of more and more domestic consumers. Conforming to this environmental protection trend and pursuing nature and green in the production and use of cosmetics has also become the inevitable development trend of the beauty industry.

At present, China has become the second largest cosmetics consumption market in the world. According to the prediction of relevant institutions, the scale of China's cosmetics market is expected to reach 478.1 billion yuan in 2021. Beauty and environmental protection should be consistent. Therefore, only when the brand produces cosmetics products that meet the market demand and conform to the development of the times can it effectively enhance its competitiveness.