Shutterstock
Teysha Technologies, a company that specialises in the production of biodegradable polymers from natural sources, has renewed its call to the cosmetics industry to stop using traditional petroleum-based polymers in products. The move follows the recent announcement that Teysha’s AggiePol polymer platform has been issued a Certificate of Biodegradability following OECD 310 testing. This means that, for the first time, there is now a genuinely sustainable plastic replacement available for the cosmetics industry to turn to.
According to a 2022 report from the Plastic Soup Foundation, 87 per cent of products from the ten best-selling cosmetics brands contain microplastics. The foundation also claims that the European Commission’s legislation to ban intentionally added microplastics, introduced in 2022, is too slow and too limited. The cosmetics industry has cited the lack of microplastics alternatives on offer as a reason for the slow transition to sustainable additives.
In response, Teysha Technologies argues cosmetic manufacturers must stop using environmentally harmful plastic additives and microplastics that contribute to the ongoing pollution of waterways and the food chain.
“Polymers play an important role in most cosmetic products, from stabilising formulations to helping products remain on the skin for longer,” explained Matthew Stone, managing director of Teysha Technologies. “However, there is no reason why many of those polymers need to be unsustainable or environmentally damaging. For example, a shower using a traditional shower gel containing microplastics deposit up to 100,000 microbeads in the ocean.”
“These microplastic fragments can remain in the environment for hundreds of years, can enter the food chain when consumed by animals and have even been detected in human blood.”
Teysha Technologies’ AggiePol platform represents a genuinely sustainable solution for the cosmetics industry. Unlike conventional bioplastics that are partially petroleum-based and do not readily biodegrade in natural conditions, AggiePol is officially a readily biodegradable material after OECD 310 testing.
“We are working with a global cosmetic manufacturer, which is looking into the use of our polymer platform to support the move away from environmentally damaging products,” added Stone.
The cosmetics industry still relies heavily on conventional polymers as additives, such as in moisturising lotions. Even though exfoliating plastic microbeads are banned in cosmetic products in the UK, microplastics from other sources are still present. Luckily, Teysha is tackling the microplastics issue head-on.
For more information on Teysha Technologies’ biodegradable biopolymer platform and how it can help cosmetic manufacturers, visit the company’s website.