The conversation around ultra-processed foods (UPFs) changed the game. Once people understood the health risks, behaviours started to shift. Retailers took notice. Brands started reformulating. What made the shift work? Compelling evidence, well-known authors and content creators, and alternatives that didn’t feel like a sacrifice.
I believe (and hope) that we’re on the brink of a similar reckoning with plastics. This time, microplastics and plastic chemicals are in the spotlight.
Microplastics in our bodies
This Plastic Free July needs to be different. We shouldn’t just be talking about marine waste or landfill anymore. Instead, we should be raising awareness of what plastics are doing inside our bodies, after a surge of alarming research in the past couple of years.
Microplastics have been found in every part of the planet – and, increasingly, in every part of us. They’re in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. We now know they can pass through lungs, lodge in organs, and even cross the blood-brain barrier.
Early research links them to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, hormone disruption and falling fertility rates. And that’s just what we’ve discovered so far.
Chemical exposure is at the heart of this issue. A recent UNEP report found over 16,000 plastic-related chemicals in circulation, many of which are used in everyday supermarket items, including cleaning products and food packaging. Of these, more than 4,200 are classed as hazardous, which means persistent, bioaccumulative, mobile or toxic. Alarmingly, nearly a quarter haven’t even been studied. We are, quite literally, flying blind.
The problem is, plastic doesn’t look scary. It’s not a brightly coloured pill or a cigarette packet. It’s the liner in a tin of beans. The soft fleece blanket your kids are snuggled up in. The sponge in your sink. It’s even in chewing gum. That invisibility makes it harder to tackle and easier to ignore.
But if we’ve learned anything from the rise of public concern over UPFs, it’s that fear on its own doesn’t drive change. What does fuel change is credible research explained in an accessible way across mainstream channels, advice on clear alternatives that don’t require extreme change, and a cultural shift in how we think about risk. We need to take the same approach with microplastics and chemicals in plastic.
Policy changes
The science is already compelling, but it requires more funding to address the scale of the issue – especially the links with human health. We also need braver policy, too. The UK led the way with the microbeads ban in 2018. That was a good start, but we need to go further, banning avoidable microplastics altogether, and driving changes like the implementation of microfibre filters on new washing machines.
Transparency will also be important. In the food world, labelling has helped transform consumer understanding. With plastics, there’s no equivalent. Right now, manufacturers don’t have to say what chemicals are in their materials. In many cases, they don’t even know.
At the same time, we need to support the pioneers doing things differently. From campaigners like Plastic Soup Foundation and A Plastic Planet, the momentum is there – it just needs scale. These swaps aren’t just better for the planet, they’re safer for the home. That’s the message that lands. Most people won’t switch for the environment, but they will for their families.
As a mum and someone who has had serious health issues in the past, I really hope we’re on the cusp of a big shift in how we think about plastics. One that will be driven not just by eco-anxiety, but by something far more personal: our health. Brands and retailers helped lead the charge on UPFs. Now it’s time to do the same for plastics.
Because if microplastics are in our blood, our brains and our babies, the question isn’t whether we act – it’s how fast.
Laura Harnett, founder of Seep
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