Our rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans are choking with plastic. Plastic-polluted waters come at the price of convenience, bad product design, and consumption. There are solutions that create real victories for our water and our planet. Like getting rid of poorly formulated products that are designed to pollute.

Companies like Johnson & Johnson -- owners of Neutrogena -- are contributing directly to the plastic pollution problem by utilizing microbeads, tiny bits of plastic in beauty products. These products are designed to be washed down the drain and because of their small size, plastic microbeads bypass most sewage treatment and go straight out into the water. By the trillions. Neutrogena’s “Deep Clean” facial cleanser contains up to 350,000 microbeads in each tube alone!

Microbeads absorb and concentrate toxins in the sewage they pass through and can be up to a million times more toxic than the water around them! Often, microbeads, which resemble fish eggs, are mistaken by animals as food. 

Publicly, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to phase out plastic microbeads, but the company is represented by the Personal Care Products Council, an industry lobbying group looking to kill or water down meaningful microbead legislation.

Tell Johnson & Johnson if it’s not natural, it’s not okay! No more plastic beads, no way!

The Story of Stuff Project's Campaigns team is hard at work organizing our Community to help pass good legislation and by signing our petition, you’re helping us to achieve a victory that keeps our waters clean and plastic microbead-free forever.

Photo Credit: Sash Photography