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Aquatic Environmental Impact of Cosmetics
Summary
This review examines the aquatic environmental impacts of cosmetic ingredients, finding that while human safety assessments of cosmetics are well-developed, ecotoxicological evaluations remain limited despite widespread detection of cosmetic chemicals in aquatic systems. Researchers found that microplastics from cosmetics have received disproportionate attention -- with over 75% of evaluations focused on marine organisms -- while other ingredients including UV filters, preservatives, and fragrances are understudied relative to their environmental prevalence.
Extensive evaluations of the safety of cosmetics regarding human health have been conducted; however, investigations of the environmental impacts of cosmetics are limited, even though cosmetics are frequently detected in aquatic environments. Unlike the other cosmetic ingredients mentioned here, more than 75% of the ecotoxicological evaluations of microplastics are performed in marine organisms; this is due to the growing concern about the anthropogenic impacts on the oceans, culminating in the creation of SDG 14 by the United Nations. For example, the banning and substitution of fragrance ingredients is primarily due to negative consequences on human health, and little attention is given to banning a cosmetic ingredient due to its impacts on the environment. The environmental impacts resulting from the aquatic contamination of microplastics have resulted in several regulatory efforts to ban the use of microbeads in cosmetics.