--- title: Microbeads Fish Health: Product Creates Environmental Issues description: Microbeads may only be few millimeters in size, but the tiny pieces of plastic found in cosmetic products can end up in our fish canonical: https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-15T21:11:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:55:40.369Z article:section: Health og:title: The Face Wash Ingredient in Your Fish og:description: Microbeads may only be few millimeters in size, but the tiny pieces of plastic found in cosmetic products can end up in our fish og:url: https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6a408b3cb9b7bdb/698863b20b72e34d1e6e5d30/ocean-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: coast pollution og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Face Wash Ingredient in Your Fish twitter:description: Microbeads may only be few millimeters in size, but the tiny pieces of plastic found in cosmetic products can end up in our fish twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6a408b3cb9b7bdb/698863b20b72e34d1e6e5d30/ocean-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Face Wash Ingredient in Your Fish ## Video: What Causes Garlic Breath? [Watch (HLS stream): What Causes Garlic Breath?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SjeOdV0s.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2014-06-09. From the American Chemical Society_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 15, 2015 9:11 PM UTC  What waste What wasteGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 15, 2015 9:11 PM UTC Microbeads may only be few millimeters in size, but the tiny pieces of plastic found in cosmetic products wreak some serious environmental havoc. A growing body of research suggests that water filters fail to remove them from waterways because of the product’s small size, leaving the microbeads in waterways where fish mistake it for similarly sized food and eat it. “They’re kind of like ground-up pieces of plastic,” says David Andrews, senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group. “What’s insidious about these particles is they pass through most wastewater treatment facilities and go straight into the environments.” Microbeads are found in a diverse array of consumer products, from cosmetics to toothpaste to face wash, where they’re sometimes used as exfoliators. In response to consumer pressure, many companies including Johnson & Johnson and and Procter & Gamble have committed to removing microbeads from their products in the coming years. **Read More**: [Why ‘BPA-Free’ May Be Meaningless](http://time.com/3742871/bpa-free-health/) But the commitment does little for the many freshwater ecosystems that have already been inundated with the product. A 2015 [report](http://www.ag.ny.gov/pdfs/2015%5FMicrobeads%5FReport%5FFINAL.pdf) from the New York State Attorney General found the plastic products in water at nearly 75% of the state’s water treatment plants. Around the world, hundreds of species of animals—including fish, birds and turtles—have been found to have ingested microbeads. They’re responsible for for a variety of ailments in fish, the report concluded, and in some cases, the plastic pieces contain toxic chemicals absorbed from the surrounding environment. While the threat to the environment is concerning, research has yet to suggest that microbeads in fish pose a widespread threat to humans, according to Andrews. That hasn’t stopped a widespread and somewhat successful push by consumers to take a stand against plastic microbeads. Last week, California lawmakers passed a ban on the sale of products containing pieces of the plastic, joining six other states that have passed similar bans. Many companies have removed microbeads from their products voluntarily. The switch was likely an easy decision because plastic beads are largely unnecessary and easily replaced, Andrews says. Biodegradable materials with the same properties have served as easy replacements for the beads. “We really question why this ingredient ended up being used in these products in the first place,” Andrews says. “The justification for using these at all was extremely thin.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/"},"headline":"The Face Wash Ingredient in Your Fish","datePublished":"2015-09-15T21:11:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:55:40.369Z","description":"The plastic product was found in water at nearly 75% of New York's water treatment plants","url":"https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/","keywords":["toxins"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6a408b3cb9b7bdb/698863b20b72e34d1e6e5d30/ocean-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6a408b3cb9b7bdb/698863b20b72e34d1e6e5d30/ocean-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"coast pollution","caption":"coast pollution","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/toxins/","name":"toxins"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/","name":"The Face Wash Ingredient in Your Fish"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What Causes Garlic Breath?","description":"From the American Chemical Society","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SjeOdV0s/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-09T19:32:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SjeOdV0s.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4033917/facewash-microbeads-fish/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```