Desert Whale Jojoba Company Features Natural Alternative to Polyethylene Beads in Cosmetics to Help Reduce Plastic Soup in World's Oceans

TUCSON, Ariz., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Desert Whale Jojoba Company presents Jojoba Scrubeads™, a sustainable and biodegradable response to Polyethylene (PE) Beads used in beauty products. This product addresses the growing concern over mounting data showing PE beads may have damaging effects on the environment. The creation of Jojoba Scrubeads comes in response to the call to action from The North Sea Foundation and The Plastic Soup Foundation for cosmetic companies to use natural replacements for PE Beads. These beads have been connected to Plastic Soup, vast soupy patches of micro-particles swirling around the world's oceans that are harming sea life.  

The Problem
Polyethylene Beads, or microbeads, are an ingredient in countless personal care products worldwide. The tiny, colorful beads, found in a variety of scrubs and washes, are often believed to be harmless; however, wastewater treatment plants are not designed to filter them out when they flow from the bathroom drain into the sewer system. Polyethylene Beads are not biodegradable and once they enter the marine environment, they are impossible to remove.

As a result, Polyethylene Beads are contributing to Plastic Soup such as the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Fish and other sea life absorb or eat PE Beads, which are passed along the marine food chain.

The Solution
Many product manufacturers are supporting the campaign against the use of Polyethylene Beads in cosmetics and personal care products by searching for alternative, natural replacement ingredients. Desert Whale Jojoba Company offers Jojoba Scrubeads, a natural, affordable alternative to PE Beads, created from a combination of castor oil and jojoba wax; jojoba is an oil extracted from the seeds of a desert shrub. Key benefits of Jojoba Scrubeads include:

• Natural polyethylene replacement
• Softens and smoothen skin's surface
• Accelerates skin's natural renewal process
• Purifies and renews skin's texture
• Refines and polishes skin's appearance
• Gentle enough for daily use
• Available in a variety of colors and sizes

"Exfoliation is a routine part of the skin cleansing regimen; exfoliants increase the effectiveness of a cleanser, helping to remove dead skin cells and dirt particles while enhancing skin's glow," said Soraya Rohde, Founder of Desert Whale Jojoba Company. "Unfortunately, many products that well-meaning consumers use contain PE Beads. As awareness about this issue continues to grow, so does the demand for naturally-sourced ingredients that provide similar exfoliating effects. That's why we've introduced Jojoba Scrubeads."

Consumers can help by making sure the ingredient lists for products they purchase do not include polyethylene. An updated list of U.S. products that do contain PE Beads can be found here.

About Desert Whale Jojoba Company
In the 1970s, environmental groups touted jojoba oil as a substitute for sperm whale oil. In 1978, Desert Whale Jojoba (DWJ) Company was founded to meet the growing demand for jojoba oil as an offshoot from the three founders' involvement with an environmental group, ESP. In 1986 Desert Whale purchased multiple farms in Hyder Valley, Arizona and became the largest US grower and producer of jojoba oil. Over time, Desert Whale began to develop derivatives from the jojoba oil to meet other needs within the personal care market. Vantage Specialty Chemicals announced its purchase of Desert Whale Jojoba Company in 2012 under the Lipo Chemicals personal care brand. Focusing on jojoba derivatives and especially jojoba exfoliants, together Desert Whale Jojoba Company and Lipo Chemicals are now coming full circle and working to save the very oceans these whales inhabit. Jojoba Oil saved the whales, and now is working to save the sea.

SOURCE Desert Whale Jojoba Company