Plastic has run rampant for far too long – and it’s time we checked its unrestricted reign.
We’ve long known that:
- We produce too much of it
- Most of it sticks around forever
- And it ends up in precarious places, harming creatures big and small.
Now, with findings from our Umbrella Review, we can officially add ourselves to that list of impacted creatures.
Minderoo Foundation, in collaboration with JBI at the University of Adelaide, undertook an umbrella review, systematically examining vast amounts of research data from thousands of scientific studies on exposure to plastic chemicals and the impacts on human health.
- The research focused mainly on five of the most commonly used classes of plastic chemicals that we know humans are exposed to, including phthalates.
- 939 meta-analyses were included in this review, using data collected from more than 1.5 million people.
- We found that none of the chemical classes studied could be regarded as safe – our health is seriously impacted by plastic chemicals throughout our lives.
There are over 16,000 chemicals used to make plastics, some of them highly toxic.
Among those found to seriously harm human health are phthalates, a type of plasticiser used to make plastics more flexible.
Phthalates are found in household plastic items we use every day, like:
- Children’s toys
- Clothing
- Food packaging and processing materials
- Medical devices such as IV bags and tubing
- Cosmetics and personal care products
- Vinyl floor coverings and other building products
- PVC pipes
While phthalates are certainly present in these products, they will never appear on the label!
Our Umbrella Report confirms: the more we're exposed to phthalates, the greater the risk to our health —particularly in relation to our hormones.
Phthalates are essentially ‘hormone hackers’. They mimic natural hormones, activating hormone receptors throughout the body, which can lead to a cascade of signalling that is not supposed to happen in exactly that way, in that particular moment.
This compromises your body’s incredible natural processes at a cellular level. Which can contribute to metabolic and reproductive health problems.
From conception, right through to adulthood, phthalates increase our risk of hormone-related health problems throughout our entire life span.
Before birth
- Miscarriage
Infants
- Genital malformations in newborn boys
Children
- Early onset puberty in girls
- Insulin resistance
Adults
- Thyroid hormone disruption
- Insulin resistance
- Male reproductive health:
- Sperm DNA damage
- Reduced sperm concentration
- Female reproductive health:
- Increased risk of endometriosis
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Now let’s dive into 5 of these shocking findings.
1. Phthalates in plastics are causing insulin resistance
Did you know that phthalates affect the way our bodies’ cells respond to insulin?
This is a big deal, since insulin is an important hormone that regulates our blood sugar levels.
Think of insulin as the key that unlocks the door to your cells, letting sugar in to be used for energy.
- Phthalates can affect the locks, so the insulin key can’t open the cell doors as easily.
- This causes more sugar to stay in the blood, which in turn results in high blood glucose.
- Your body responds to this reaction by making more insulin, with the aim of getting that sugar into cells for the energy you need to live.
- This health conundrum is called “insulin resistance”.
- Left unchecked, this can lead to Type 2 Diabetes
2. For girls, there’s a link between higher exposure to phthalates and very early puberty
Puberty is meant to happen at just the right time – not too early, not too late. But phthalates can affect estrogen receptors and mimic the effects of estrogen, a key hormone in puberty. Just as with insulin, phthalates can also affect estrogen receptors, mimicking estrogen's effects.
For girls, high phthalate exposure can affect estrogen signalling in such a way that alters the timing of sexual development.
The result is very early puberty (before the age of 8), which has knock-on effects, such as reduced height and life-long impacts on well-being.
3. For boys, there’s a link between higher exposure to phthalates and genital malformations
During pregnancy, a baby’s development depends on just the right balance of hormones at the right time — especially when it comes to forming healthy sex organs.
When a pregnant woman is exposed to high levels of phthalates, these chemicals can interfere with that hormonal balance.
- In boys, this can lead to changes in how the genitals form before birth
- One sign of this is a shorter distance between the anus and the genitals — something doctors use as a marker of healthy male hormone balance in the womb
- This shorter distance suggests that the action of male sex hormones was disrupted by exposure to phthalates during a crucial stage of the baby’s development
- It’s one of the ways phthalates can quietly impact a child’s long-term health before they’re even born
4. High phthalate exposure is linked to reduced sperm count, testosterone, and sperm quality in men
Our Umbrella Review confirmed that exposure to phthalates is linked to lower sperm count and quality in men.
This means men with higher phthalate exposure tend to have fewer sperm—and the sperm they do have are more likely to carry DNA damage.
These effects on sperm are connected to testosterone levels, which when impacted, increases the chances for men to experience other long-term health issues as well.
Phthalates pose a hidden threat that increases the risk of PCOS and endometriosis in women
For women, phthalates are linked to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis–major causes of female infertility.
Phthalate-related endocrine disruption in women may affect reproductive health across the entire lifespan.
Each of us is continuously exposed to these chemicals, and this is not our fault – they are nearly impossible to completely avoid!
We need our governments to do more to protect us from the chemicals found in plastic which are harming us.
At Minderoo, we are calling for global regulation on these five harmful plastic chemicals:
- Phthalates
- Bisphenols (including BPA)
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
We are currently advocating for the strict banning on plastic chemicals through the global plastic treaty, of which you can get the latest update (from May 2025) here.
The good news is, we can significantly reduce our exposure by making some simple switches.
These small swaps can go a long way toward protecting your health while we work toward systemic change.
We’ve devised a quick list of alternatives to the items most commonly found to contain phthalates below.
Children’s toys
Choose:
- Bath toys made from natural rubber
- Toys made from organic cotton, natural rubber, and untreated wood
Food packaging
Choose:
- Glass storage containers
- Stainless steel lunchboxes
- Fresh produce over canned goods, wherever possible
Cosmetics & personal
Choose:
- Certified organic skincare
- Natural oils (e.g. coconut, jojoba, shea butter)
- Fragrance-free or "phthalate-free" labelled products
Household items
Choose:
- Linoleum or bamboo flooring
- Solid wood or metal furniture
- Natural fibre rugs and upholstery
- Cotton or hemp shower curtains
These findings can be scary, but there are always alternative choices you can make to protect yourself.
While you make those localised changes, we remain steadfast in continuing to fight against plastics to bring about positive change for human health and the environment.
Want to dig deeper?
Explore the full findings on the health risks of toxic plastic chemicals in our comprehensive Umbrella Report.
Or, check out our blog on the upcoming Global Plastics Treaty negotiations to see how we are advocating on a global stage for safer plastics.
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