Novamont unveils alternative to microbeads in cosmetics

The Italian plastics company Novamont has announced a range of bio-based and biodegradable ingredients for cosmetics in response to concern over a build-up of micro-plastics in our oceans.

The company’s Celus-Bi Feel is a texturising agent developed in collaboration with Roelmi, an Italian company specialising in sustainable cosmetics. The research has also produced exfoliants and emollients from renewable bio-materials. 

Novamont says Celus-Bi Feel biodegrades rapidly and totally in the environment in accordance with the guidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Comparable costs

Roelmi’s first product is a blusher without plastic microbeads and manufactured at a cost said to be comparable to standard products.

‘It is fully biodegraded in just a few days in a purifying plant, ensuring that no residues end up in rivers and seas and with the enormous advantage that the resulting sludge has no microplastics.’ the company adds.

New alliances

‘Collaboration with partners like Roelmi, that are open to innovation and sensitive to issues such as sustainability, is essential,’ comments Novamont’s ceo Catia Bastioli says. ‘It will be possible to create new alliances with companies that share our commitment to the environment and local areas in order to speed up sustainable transformation of the sector,’ she adds.