They're little pieces of plastic smaller than a grain of sand.

它們是比沙子還要小的塑膠微粒。

And they're everywhere.

而且無所不在。

You might be swishing them around in your mouth or rubbing them in your face!

你很有可能把它們塞進嘴裡刷呀刷，或是把它們抹在臉上！

Yuck!

太噁了吧！

Microbeads are in lots of stuff, but they show up most in personal care products.

許多產品都有添加柔珠，但它們最常出現在個人清潔用品中。

Face soap and body wash. Toothpaste.

像是洗面乳、沐浴乳。甚至是牙膏。

You could even be filling in those smile lines with the plastic in "age-defying" makeup!

你也可能已經用了含有塑膠的抗老化產品來填滿你的法令紋。

Companies put them in these products as exfoliants or just for texture, but there's no proof they even help!

為了去角質或追求磨砂的質感，廠商便在產品裡加入柔珠，但其實沒有證據顯示加了柔珠後會有多大效果。

And you might not realize that you're using them, unless you know what to look for.

除非你看得懂成分標示，不然你可能根本不知道你在使用含有柔珠的產品。

But the biggest problem with microbeads is that they're designed to go down the drain.

但柔珠最大的問題就是它們會流進排水孔。

They're so small most water treatment plants can't capture them...so billions are ending up in our waterways every day.

汙水處理廠沒辦法過濾這麼小的粒子，所以每天就有好幾十億的柔珠流進我們的水域中。

And even worse, these tiny bits of plastic act like sponges, soaking up the toxics around them.

更糟的是，這些柔珠就像海綿一樣，會吸附週遭的有毒物質。

So a single microbead can end up being a million times more toxic than the water around it.

所以光是一顆柔珠最後就會比它周圍的水毒上好幾百萬倍。

Once in our waterways they get eaten by fish and other animals.

一旦進入我們的水域，這些柔珠就有可能會被魚或其他生物吃掉。

And could make their way right back to you in your sushi!

之後可能就上了餐桌成為你要吃的壽司！

How's that for the circle of life!

這樣的「生命循環」好嗎？

So why do companies put these plastic microbeads in their products to begin with?

那為什麼當初廠商要在產品中加入柔珠呢？

Well, for one, plastic's cheaper than the natural exfoliants we used to use.

因為柔珠遠比以前添加的天然去角質成分便宜。

Plus it's an excuse to sell more stuff!

而且它是個讓產品越賣越多的幌子！

Those natural exfoliants works so well you could only use them once a week!

天然的去角質成分的效果非常好，所以你只能一週使用一次。

Microbeads are smooth enough to use every day which means you run out quicker!

柔珠則因為較不粗糙而可以每天使用，但這也就意味著你會消耗得更快。

And have to buy more of that product.

然後就要再買更多產品。

Sure, we can try to avoid products with microbeads.

我們當然可以避免使用含有柔珠的產品。

But isn't the bigger problem what companies put on the shelf in the first place?

但難道最大的問題不是出在上架這些產品的廠商嗎？

The good news is some companies are already removing plastic microbeads from their products.

好消息是，有些廠商已經不再使用柔珠了。

And many places are considering outright bans!

許多國家也開始全面禁用。

No matter where you live, there are ways to take action.

不管你住在哪裡，總會有行動的方法。

Come on! We don't need the beads!

來吧！我們才不需要這些珠珠！

Let's get them out of our stuff, out of our waterways, and out of our bodies.

讓它從我們的產品、水域、和身體裡消失吧！