Plastic Microbeads

Some products, including face wash, body wash and toothpastes, may contain scrubbing ingredients for the purpose of exfoliating and cleansing. Solid plastic particles that are five millimeters or less in diameter are called “plastic microbeads,” and constitute one of these scrubbing ingredients. There are growing concerns that plastic microbeads may have an environmental impact once they are discharged into bodies of water, including oceans and rivers.

Kao takes plastic microbeads concerns seriously. We completed a shift from plastic microbeads to alternative scrubbing ingredients at the end of 2016. Therefore, all face wash, body wash and toothpaste products that we produce and deliver no longer contain these types of ingredients.