How many of you know about chemicals present in body washes, toothpastes and face scrubs that damage environment? Experts have revealed that little microbeads are present in those products and they are causing damage to oceans, lakes and rivers after flowing into them in large numbers.

A study, conducted in 2013 by nonprofit 5 Gyres Institute, claimed the presence of up to 1.1 million tiny beads per square kilometre in the Great Lakes. The average presence was 17,000 per square kilometer. The stark results of the study prompted Illinois to take a decision to phase out microbeads by 2019. According to experts, there are 330,000 plastic beads in a single bottle of Clean & Clear facial scrub.

Similar legislation is under consideration for implementation in New York and California. Efforts to get rid of those microbeads are now being made by Unilever, Proctor & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive.

The issue must not be trivialized, given the fact that the microbeads ranging from 0.0004 to 1.24 millimeters are too small and light to be filtered by water treatment plants. Thus, they easily enter the waterways where fish and other aquatic animals get attracted to them, thinking apt o satiate their hunger. But after eating them, their stomachs get clogged up. They are even worse as they are highly capable of attracting other toxic pollutants like oil and pesticides.

Sea creatures that eat them fall victim to those toxins. Humans and other large fish also eat those creatures, thereby paving way for those toxins to impact the entire food chain.

"People say, Wait, there's plastic in my face wash? In my toothpaste? They understand innately that this isn't right and ... industry definitely responds. When we put our minds to something we can make it happen", said Sherri Mason, an environmental scientist with State University of New York-Fredonia.