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Microbeads are bad news, but fortunately most of us know that by now. There has been growing resistance to the miniscule pieces of plastic, added to personal care products for their ability to exfoliate skin, or sometimes just to look pretty in a see-through bottle. These microbeads, however, wreak environmental havoc as soon as they're washed down the drain. The outcome is described here by campaign group 'Beat the Microbead':

Just a day after a group of cross-party MPs called on the UK government to ban microbeads, Greenpeace released a report outlining the science on the impact of microplastics, including microbeads, on oceans and seafood. The non-profit is also urging the UK government to ban microbeads, "both due to the damage they cause to marine life and as a precautionary measure against the risk of human consumption."

President Obama signed a bill on Monday that will phase out the manufacturing of face wash, toothpaste and shampoo containing plastic microbeads by July 1, 2017, and the sale of such beauty products by July 1, 2018.

Personal care products containing microbeads will be banned from Canada beginning Jan. 1. A statement from Environmental Defence Canada lauds the ban and sees it as a proactive move, as other nations around the world consider similar regulations.

Greenpeace ranked the world's 30 largest cosmetic and personal care brands according to the strength of their commitments to eliminate microbeads from their products. Companies among the top-3 included Beiersdorf (joint first), Colgate-Palmolive (joint first), L Brands (joint first), Henkel (joint first), Clarins (joint second), Unilever (joint second), Reckitt Benckiser (joint third), L'Oréal Groupe (joint third), and others.