China to Ban Microbeads in Cosmetics

On Oct. 30, China National Development and Reform Commission officially passed the Catalogue of Guidance on Industry Structure Adjustment (2019 Version), which serves as a significant reference for the design of fiscal, tax, credit, land, import and export policies and is scheduled to be effective from Jan.1, 2020.

The Catalogue defines and outlines the scope of 3 distinct categories of industry work: encouraged projects, restricted projects and projects to be eliminated. For the first category, it shall carry out verification or filing in line with relevant regulations. For the restricted category, it is forbidden to construct a new project. Only reform of existing projects and/or upgrade within a certain period of time is allowed. For the last category, investment is prohibited, and the projects shall be eliminated within the prescribed time limit.

Regarding the cosmetic industry, there are 3 projects which will be eliminated:

Daily chemical products containing microbeads: the manufacture of such products is banned from December 31, 2020 and the sale is banned from December 31, 2022;
Cosmetics whose content of mercury exceeds 1ppm, including skin whitening soaps, lotion and cream, but excluding eye cosmetics that use mercury as a preservative and have no effective and safe alternative preservative: it shall be phased out by December 31, 2020;
Fragrance compound containing musk xylene. (The ingredient has been listed as a prohibited substance in GB/T 22731-2017 Fragrance Compound.)

Regulation of Microbeads around the World

Microbeads are tiny plastic particles less than 5mm across and have been widely used in rinse-off personal care products such as toothpaste, facial scrubs, shampoos, soaps, bath wash etc. Microbeads are both persistent and bioaccumulative within the ecosystem and pose a significant problem for the marine environment and associated food chains. Many countries around the world have banned or are seeking to ban microbeads in cosmetics.

Country/area	The current situation of microbeads supervision
America ^[3]	For rinse-off cosmetics that contain intentionally-added plastic microbeads: The ban on the manufacture began on July 1, 2017 The ban on the sale began on July 1, 2018
America ^[3]	For cosmetics that are over-the-counter drugs: Ban on the manufacture: July 1, 2018 Ban on the sale: July 1, 2019
Canada	Toiletries containing plastic microbeads, such as shower gels, toothpaste and facial scrubs: Ban on the manufacture and import: Jan. 1, 2018 Ban on the sale: July 1, 2018
Canada	Natural health products and OTC medicines: Ban on the manufacture and import: July 1, 2018 Ban on the sale: July 1, 2019
The UK	Cosmetics and personal care products containing plastic beads, such as facial scrub, shower gel, toothpaste, etc. Ban on the manufacture: Jan. 9, 2018 Ban on the sale: July 1, 2018
Korea	The ban on the use of microbeads in cosmetics began on July 1, 2017, the sales ban began on July 1, 2018.
New Zealand	Banned product scope: Rinse-off” face, hand and body cleansers, scrubs and exfoliators; Toothpastes; Glitter bubble bath; Abrasive cleaning products for the home, the car and for industrial cleaning (rare in New Zealand but are manufactured and sold overseas) The ban on the manufacture and sale of these products began on Jun. 7, 2018.
China (Taiwan)	Banned product scope: Shampoo Body wash Facial Cleansing Soap Facial Scrub Toothpaste The ban on the manufacture and import of these products began on Jan. 1, 2018, the sales ban began on July 1, 2018.
EU	The European Parliament has approved a law banning a wide-range of single-use plastic items, such as straws, cotton buds and cutlery, by 2021 ^[4]. But currently there is no regional law banning microbeads in EU. It is reported that the European Chemicals Agency will use its chemical laws to ban the use of microbeads in products such as cosmetics, paints and medical devices from 2020, as a part of EU’s plastic strategy.