A letter to Neutrogena

After reading about the problem with polyethylene beads in body and facial cleansers, I quickly set about looking around the house for products that I use that may contain these ingredients. To my horror, 3 of the 4 products in my house do indeed use polyethylene beads! One, Neutrogena's Pore Refining Scrub, surprised me, as I've always viewed Neutrogena as a good company.

So, as any good activist citizen should do, I emailed them. Below is my message. We'll see how the company responds. I will keep you posted.

"I have always considered your company to be one of the "good" ones out there - a company I can be proud to support and that creates products that are not only good for me, but good for society also. So imagine my distress when I read a recent article describing the dangers of cleansers and scrubs made with polyethylene beads that wash down our drains, into the oceans and rivers, and become food for marine life - often contributing to their death by clogging up their intestines with indigestible plastic beads that results in fatal constipation (what a horrid way to die!) and then realized that YOUR product contains these beads!

With perfectly good natural scrubbing agents around, I cannot imagine any good reason to use an artificial ingredient such as these polyethylene beads in your product. You have, at best, ignored the effects of this particular scrubbing agent, and at worst deliberately DESIGNED a product that is destructive to our ecosystems and the organisms that live within them. It is irresponsible, inexcusable, and frankly, immoral.

I urge you to immediately begin phasing out the use of these polyethylene beads from your entire product line, and to conduct an audit of your product line for ingredients that may similarly harm the environment. You have a duty and responsibility not just to your shareholders, but to the people, communities, and ecosystems within which you operate. I hope that the high esteem with which I have always held your company in has not been a mistake - please make these changes NOW."