“It is part of REACH, but this proposal to restrict microplastics can have a tsunami effect on the cosmetics industry,” announced Meglena Mihova from the begginning of her lecture to set the scene.

The restriction proposed by ECHA

Cosmetics is now used to having restrictions applied to substances whose hazard has been identified, for example for CMRs. The context is very different here.
The restriction applies to solid particles containing polymers, because of their small size and their potential to be easily ingested and to enter the food chain. They are also targeted because of their high resistance combined with their very slow biodegradability, which means that once in the environment, they can remain present for a very long time and that they are practically impossible to eliminate. Microplastics are thus considered as substances without a safety threshold, similar to PBT / vPvB (Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic / very Persistent very Bioaccumulative).
To solve this problem of the accumulation of microplastics in the environment, the European Commission wanted to start acting by targeting polymers used intentionally in all industrial sectors. Hence its request to ECHA to prepare a restriction measure.

The definition

It is the basis for identifying whether substances …