Here’s a race to cheer for: New York and California are neck-in-neck to become the first state to ban microbeads in body wash and other cosmetics.

 

The tiny plastic bits that serve as exfoliants in personal care products are so small that they slip through municipal wastewater treatment, and end up in lakes, rivers and oceans. Once introduced to the aquatic environment, they are ingested by fish and other wildlife.

 

Legislature in California proposed a ban on all products containing microbeads. "It’s important to get to this before it becomes a wide-scale problem—before it requires a very expensive response," California Assemblyman Richard Bloom said. "We know enough about marine biology to know that it will grow in magnitude and continue to be a problem."

 

New York’s proposed law goes even further. The Microbead-Free Waters Act not only bans the sale of these products but also the production, manufacture and distribution of products containing plastics of 5 millimeters or smaller.

 

Several manufacturers have already committed to removing microbeads from their products, including The Body Shop, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever. However, legislation is a more aggressive tactic for slowing the flow of these plastics. If California and New York can set the pace, hopefully more states will follow.