A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking an investigation into reports that 26 of 34 toothpaste products available in the Bangladeshi market contain potentially harmful microplastics.
Supreme Court lawyer Md Abdullah Al Mamun filed the petition on Monday.
The respondents include the secretaries of the Ministries of Health, Environment and Commerce, along with the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP).
The petition cites published media reports, which said microplastics were detected in 26 of the 34 toothpaste samples tested. The concentration of plastic particles ranged from 20 to 320 per 100 grams of toothpaste. The reports also said microplastics were found in four of the six toothpaste products formulated for children.
The findings were revealed in a recent study by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), which warned that the presence of microplastics in toothpaste poses potential risks to both human health and the environment.
According to the study, conducted between July 2025 and June 2026, researchers analysed 34 toothpaste samples representing 19 major brands manufactured in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Vietnam.
Of the 25 locally manufactured samples, 22 were found to contain microplastics. Among the imported products, microplastics were detected in one of the five samples from India, one of the two samples from Thailand, and both samples imported from Vietnam.