TerraVerdae debuts biodegradable microspheres for cosmetics, personal care
In Canada, TerraVerdae BioWorks, announced a new line of biodegradable, natural microspheres for use in personal care and cosmetic products, as a direct replacement for synthetic, non-degradable plastic microbeads that are currently the subject of restrictive legislation throughout the world.
TerraVerdae’s natural microspheres are a PHA-based biomaterial produced using a non- GMO, non-toxic, plant-associated process. Unlike other biomaterials that require a compost environment to degrade, TerraVerdae’s microspheres are intrinsically biodegradable and meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) industry standards for biodegradation in a marine environment. TerraVerdae can produce microspheres in a range of sizes, in both smooth and coarse finishes, that feature high optical clarity and the mechanical characteristics to meet all requirements for cosmetic formulations.
With the hand of the law increasingly turning against plastic microbeads in the United States, TerraVerdae has joined a growing list of biodegradable alternative ingredients. Since the 1990s, when cosmetic manufacturers started using plastic microbeads as abrasives in facial and body scrubs, and other personal care products, users of these products have been rinsing plastic microspheres down the drain with careless abandon. A single container of a personal hygiene product can contain 300,000 or more microbeads.
“The scale of pollution found recently in the Great Lakes as a result of plastic microbeads used in personal care products has been dramatic and concerning,” said William Bardosh, CEO and founder of TerraVerdae BioWorks. “Our biodegradable, environmentally safe microspheres have all the performance characteristics that cosmetic manufacturers demand of current polyethylene plastic products, but they rapidly and safely break down in the marine environment, leaving behind no harmful solids.”
Category: Fuels
