Spotlight on ethics: Microplastics in cosmetics

You’re an engineering student on an industrial placement year at a company that manufactures cosmetics. The company is involved in a big project that focuses on alternative, more environmentally friendly cosmetic chemistries. You notice that a batch of products might have been contaminated with microplastics. You flag this up to your supervisor but they wave your concerns away. What do you do?

This is the dilemma presented in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit case study Microplastics in cosmetics.

We’ve provided this, and other case studies, for you to use and adapt in your teaching. If you’re new to ethics, we have a growing library of guidance articles available to support you, and an Ethics Explorer to get you started. Please take a look and give us your feedback.

Want to contribute your own content to the Ethics Toolkit? Get involved here.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Related articles

Spotlight on complex systems: Complex systems in a transformational era

Our Complex Systems Toolkit knowledge article “Complex systems in a transformational era” addresses the question “Why should we integrate complex systems into...

Toolkits

Spotlight on complex systems: The real world is a complex system

Our Complex Systems Toolkit knowledge article “The real world is a complex system” addresses the importance of teaching and learning about complex...

Toolkits
Let us know what you think of our website