When you wash your hair with Marcel's Green Soap, you are doing well. Our products do not contain microplastics. But unfortunately, many other products do. We provide practical tips on how to ban (micro)plastics from your life and nature.
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic (< 5mm) that are created by the disintegration of plastic waste and the wear and tear of car tires and clothing. These pieces of plastic end up in the environment and end up in the air, water, soil and our food and drinks. And that is not good for anyone. In addition, many manufacturers deliberately add microplastics to their products to improve the structure, appearance or functioning. Microplastics are used in make-up, creams, deodorant, toothpaste, cleaning agents such as scouring agents, detergents, dishwasher tablets and paint. These microplastics eventually wash into the environment via wastewater. That has to change, right?
Microplastic-free brands
At Marcel's Green Soap, all products are microplastic-free. You can see this from the 'Look for the Zero' and 'Microplastic-free Formula' labels on our packaging. This way, you can be sure that no microplastics will leave your home via the drain. Great, right? Other microplastic-free brands include:
• WELEDA
•Clipper tea (yep: even tea bags sometimes contain microplastics...)
• Smile
• Naive
What can you do yourself?
Prevention is better than cure, especially when it comes to microplastics. Plastic does not decompose. In fact, a piece of plastic waste breaks down into increasingly smaller pieces, which makes the problem bigger and bigger. The consequences of microplastics on our health and the environment have not yet been scientifically proven. But it is a problem, that is for sure. What can you do yourself to prevent pollution by microplastics?:
• Buy as little packaging as possible. For example, use reusable bags for your fruit and vegetables.
• Use refills . These contain larger quantities, meaning you need to buy fewer packages.
• Wear clothes made from natural materials instead of synthetic fabrics.
• Use a washing net to wash your synthetic clothing. This will catch microplastics. Synthetic fibres are the main source of microplastics in wastewater.
• Drive your car as little as possible, make sure your tire pressure is correct and replace your winter tires in time.
• Scan your care products with the Beat the Microbeat app to see if microplastics are present.
• Check the packaging of a product to see if it has a microplastic-free quality mark, such as the 'Zero Plastic Inside' quality mark from the Plastic Soup Foundation.
• Use reusable water bottles and coffee-to-go cups to reduce litter.
• Last but not least: separate your plastic waste! So throw your empty Marcel's Green Soap bottle in the plastic waste so that it can be reused. Our packaging is not only made from recycled plastic, but also recyclable .
Sources:
https://www.consumentenbond.nl/duurzaamer-eten/microplastics
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/
https://www.beatthemicrobead.org/
