A single cleansing product can contain as many as 360,000 plastic microbeads that wash straight into the ocean and harm sea life. Photograph: Tim Gainey/Alamy

Microplastics: which beauty brands are safe to use?

This article is more than 8 years old

The tiny beads used in exfoliant scrubs and toothpastes are at various stages of being phased out by the industry. Until a blanket ban comes into force, here’s a handy list of popular brands to help you choose which to use and which to avoid

Last week, Greenpeace found that two-thirds of the British public it polled think plastic microbeads used in exfoliant toiletries should be banned.

The tiny beads - found in face and body scrubs and some toothpastes - are too small to be captured through existing wastewater treatment processes, and wash straight into the ocean where they harm fish and other sea life.

The US passed a ban at the end of 2015, with Canada set to follow suit and several EU nations - but not the UK - calling for a legal ban.

A single cleansing product can contain as many as 360,000 microbeads, while natural, biodegradable alternatives include jojoba beads, apricot kernels, ground nutshells and salt.

Many beauty brands have already stopped using microplastics or committed to do so, but until a blanket ban comes into force, we’ve compiled a handy list of which companies to use and which to consider avoiding.

If you’re unsure, check the label and avoid products containing polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon.

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Beat the Bead campaign has a free smartphone app that scans a product’s barcode for plastics, while and Fauna & Flora International’s Good Scrub Guide is a good source of up-to-date information.

Green light - brands that have phased out in new products or never used microplastics

Asda

Beiersdorf (Nivea)

Boots (own-brand)

Botanicals

Colgate-Palmolive

Co-op (own-brand)

Clarins

Clorox (Burt’s Bees)

Cussons

Dr Hauschka

La Roche-Posay

Liz Earle

L’Oréal (owns Body Shop, Garnier, Kiehl’s, Lancome, La Roche Posay)

Lush

M&S (own-brand)

Morrisons (own-brand)

Neal’s Yard Remedies

Oral-B

Palmer’s

REN

Rituals

Sainsbury’s (own-brand)

St Ives

Unilever (owns Dermalogica, Dove, Pond’s, Simple)

Waitrose (own-brand)

Weleda

Amber - brands with products currently containing microplastics but plans to phase out their use

Avon (phasing out but no date announced)

Bliss (owned by Steiner Leisure) - end of 2016

Christian Dior - by 2017

Church & Dwight (Arm & Hammer toothpaste) - researching alternatives

Elemis (owned by Steiner Leisure) - 2018

Estée Lauder (owns Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Darphin, Origins, Lab Series for men) - currently in the process of removing microbeads from products that contain them

Elizabeth Arden - June 2016-April 2017

Johnson & Johnson (Aveeno, Clean & Clear, Neutrogena) - end of 2017

L’Occitane - committed to removing them as quickly as possible from remaining products

Proctor and Gamble (owns Crest toothpaste, Gillette, Olay) - by 2017

Reckitt Benckiser (Clearasil) - end of 2017

Sisley - end of 2018

Superdrug (own-brand products) - by end of 2016

Tesco (own-brand range) - by 2017