SAFEGUARDS | Cosmetics, Personal Care & Household NO. 109/17

The Government of Canada has banned the use of microbeads in toiletries in order to protect the environment by reducing the quantity of plastic microbeads entering freshwater and marine ecosystems.

The Government of Canada finalized Regulation SOR/2017-111 on June 02, 2017, banning the use of microbeads in toiletries - products intended for the cleansing or exfoliation of hair, skin, teeth, or mouth. 'Microbeads' are defined as plastic microbeads equal to or below 5mm in size in item 133 of the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. This Regulation is aimed at protecting the environment by reducing the quantity of plastic microbeads entering Canadian freshwater and marine ecosystems.

The manufacture or import of toiletries containing microbeads will be prohibited from January 1, 2018, unless they are also natural health products or non-prescription drugs, in which case the ban applies from July 01, 2018.

The sale of toiletries that contain microbeads will be prohibited from July 1, 2018, unless they are also natural health products or non-prescription drugs, in which case the ban applies from July 1, 2019.

Source:

  1. Microbeads in Toiletries Regulation, SOR/2017-111[1]
  2. Toxic Substances List - Schedule 1[2]
  3. SafeGuard - Plastic Microbead Ban Continues To Expand[3]

NEXT STEP:

There is a global trend towards banning the use of microbeads in personal care products. In addition to Canada, countries and regions like the US, New Zealand, Taiwan, etc, have already established laws to regulate their use. Cosmetic manufacturers should recoganize these changes and make sure they are compliant with the relevant regulations concerning microbeads.

For enquiries, please contact:

Queenie TSE
Consumer and Retail Cosmetics, Personal Care and Household (CPCH)
Senior Technical Service Executive
t: +852 2765 3672 (ext 1672)

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SGS SA published this content on 17 July 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 20 July 2017 05:18:09 UTC.

Original documenthttp://www.sgs.com/en/news/2017/07/safeguards-10917-canada-bans-microbeads-in-toiletries

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