Microbeads omitted from ingredient label in half of beauty products in major Hong Kong cosmetic retailers
Greenpeace says such packaging did not state clearly if they contained microplastics, a huge source of marine pollution
About half the products sampled from five major Hong Kong cosmetic retailers do not have proper labels indicating they contain microplastics, a huge source of marine pollution, a study has found.
Such sales practices, according to Greenpeace East Asia, “deprived consumers of their right to know” about their use and disposal of products that could harm the environment.
Microplastics are small plastic particles, usually less than 5mm in size, which tend to be broken off from larger plastic pieces. They can also be in the form of “microbeads”, manufactured for use in body scrubs and cleansers.
They are small enough to be washed down drains and flushed into the ocean, and can end up in the digestive tracts of marine creatures consumed by humans.
Studies have shown that Hong Kong has one of the world’s highest mean abundances of microplastic waste on its shores.
Of the 1,413 cosmetic products surveyed from retailers Bonjour, Colourmix, Mannings, Sasa and Watsons, 698 items – about half of the total – did not have clear labelling. Ingredient lists, for example, were in either Japanese or Korean, or missing altogether.