A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations
Festivities, holidays and celebrations are often associated with unsustainability and high environmental impact. Examples include unsustainable overconsumption and waste during Christmas, Ramadan and during the Chinese New Years celebrations among many others. Microplastics (i.e., plastic fragments...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Cambridge Prisms: Plastics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2755094X25100138/type/journal_article |
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| author | Sara A.M. Silva Joana C. Prata Weiwei Zhang Tony R. Walker |
| author_facet | Sara A.M. Silva Joana C. Prata Weiwei Zhang Tony R. Walker |
| author_sort | Sara A.M. Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Festivities, holidays and celebrations are often associated with unsustainability and high environmental impact. Examples include unsustainable overconsumption and waste during Christmas, Ramadan and during the Chinese New Years celebrations among many others. Microplastics (i.e., plastic fragments 5 mm) have also become a significant environmental concern during these periods. Common non-essential festive items like glitter, confetti, balloons and other decorations along with glitter used in cosmetic products contribute to microplastic pollution, potentially causing adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Despite overwhelming evidence of the adverse impacts of microplastics on human and environmental health, how non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations will be addressed within the Global Plastics Treaty remains unclear. Although the draft Global Plastics Treaty text includes non-essential plastic items such as balloons and rinse-off microbeads in cosmetics, no other decorative or aesthetic use of microplastics have been included. Whilst the inclusions of non-essential plastics are commendable, we argue that further inclusions be made for non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations within the Global Plastics Treaty. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bcb161725a5d4a0f93c464f2cfef81e5 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2755-094X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cambridge Prisms: Plastics |
| spelling | doaj-art-bcb161725a5d4a0f93c464f2cfef81e52025-07-17T08:37:35ZengCambridge University PressCambridge Prisms: Plastics2755-094X2025-01-01310.1017/plc.2025.10013A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorationsSara A.M. Silva0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5506-6811Joana C. Prata1Weiwei Zhang2Tony R. Walker3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9008-0697UCIBIO – Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, https://ror.org/00w7bj245 University Institute of Health Sciences - CESPU (1H TOXRUN, IUCS-CESPU) , 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal Associate Laboratory i4HB – Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, https://ror.org/00w7bj245 University Institute of Health Sciences – CESPU , 4585-116 Gandra, PortugalUCIBIO – Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, https://ror.org/00w7bj245 University Institute of Health Sciences - CESPU (1H TOXRUN, IUCS-CESPU) , 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal Associate Laboratory i4HB – Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, https://ror.org/00w7bj245 University Institute of Health Sciences – CESPU , 4585-116 Gandra, PortugalSchool for Resource and Environmental Studies, https://ror.org/01e6qks80 Dalhousie University , Halifax, NS, Canada State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, https://ror.org/02n96ep67 East China Normal University , Shanghai, ChinaSchool for Resource and Environmental Studies, https://ror.org/01e6qks80 Dalhousie University , Halifax, NS, CanadaFestivities, holidays and celebrations are often associated with unsustainability and high environmental impact. Examples include unsustainable overconsumption and waste during Christmas, Ramadan and during the Chinese New Years celebrations among many others. Microplastics (i.e., plastic fragments 5 mm) have also become a significant environmental concern during these periods. Common non-essential festive items like glitter, confetti, balloons and other decorations along with glitter used in cosmetic products contribute to microplastic pollution, potentially causing adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Despite overwhelming evidence of the adverse impacts of microplastics on human and environmental health, how non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations will be addressed within the Global Plastics Treaty remains unclear. Although the draft Global Plastics Treaty text includes non-essential plastic items such as balloons and rinse-off microbeads in cosmetics, no other decorative or aesthetic use of microplastics have been included. Whilst the inclusions of non-essential plastics are commendable, we argue that further inclusions be made for non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations within the Global Plastics Treaty.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2755094X25100138/type/journal_articlecontaminationplastics pollutionplastic reduction policiesmicroplasticsmicroplastics pollution |
| spellingShingle | Sara A.M. Silva Joana C. Prata Weiwei Zhang Tony R. Walker A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations Cambridge Prisms: Plastics contamination plastics pollution plastic reduction policies microplastics microplastics pollution |
| title | A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations |
| title_full | A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations |
| title_fullStr | A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations |
| title_full_unstemmed | A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations |
| title_short | A call to ban non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations |
| title_sort | call to ban non essential microplastics used in cosmetics festival and holiday decorations |
| topic | contamination plastics pollution plastic reduction policies microplastics microplastics pollution |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2755094X25100138/type/journal_article |
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