microplastics

How does plastic end up in the ocean?

Posted by Louisa Casson - 22nd August 2017
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We know our oceans and coastlines are choking on plastic. We’ve all seen plastic bottles, food wrappers and plastic bags polluting beaches, and been horrified by the stories of marine creatures like seabirds and whales starving when their stomachs become packed full of plastic.   Scientists… Read More

UK Government plans to outlaw microbeads! But a limited ban won’t do.

Posted by Fiona Nicholls - 7th September 2016
Image for UK Government plans to outlaw microbeads! But a limited ban won’t do.

This weekend, the Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom announced a plan to ban microbeads from cosmetic products like face scrubs, toothpastes and shower gels. This is brilliant news for the 350,000 people who have signed our petition in collaboration with Fauna &… Read More

Microbeads ban creeps closer as MPs demand action

Posted by Fiona Nicholls - 24th August 2016
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All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace

Great news this morning – an influential government committee just backed our call for a ban on microbeads! Sign the petition – ask Theresa May’s Government to show leadership on this important environmental issue and ban microbeads. It’s rare that MPs from… Read More

From L’Oreal to Revlon, which brands are polluting the ocean with microbeads?

Posted by Elisabeth Whitebread - 21st July 2016
Image for From L’Oreal to Revlon, which brands are polluting the ocean with microbeads?

(PS – it’s all of them!) After discovering that 170 types of seafood contained traces of microplastics, Greenpeace East Asia decided to put 30 of the world’s biggest cosmetic and personal care brands to the test. Microbeads might be best known to you as the coloured beads in… Read More

The Good Scrub Guide and other simple ways to beat the microbead

Posted by Fiona Nicholls - 27th June 2016
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All rights reserved. Credit: Credit Olivia Bailey-FFI

Guest blog by Daniel Steadman of Fauna & Flora International. Over the past three years, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has been collecting data on microplastic use in personal care and cosmetic products and working effectively with UK brands on a voluntary phase out of microplastic ingredients in… Read More

Microbeads – the story so far….

Posted by Elisabeth Whitebread - 21st June 2016
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All rights reserved. Credit: Fred Dott/Greenpeace

Last Wednesday on World Oceans Day we handed our microbeads petition into Number 10. Over 300,000 of you signed the petition – one of the biggest petitions in Greenpeace UK’s history! This is the story of the campaign so far. In December the US passed… Read More